Return to Berk
by dukefan01
Summary: A 'what if Hiccup had ran away story'. Five years later the dragon rider arrives at Berk to protect them from the threat of Drago and his dragon army. No new chapters, just adding revised chapters from my amazing beta!
1. Introduction

**So, I've noticed a lot of people have written 'what if' stories, and the most popular one is 'what if hiccup had left'. While I like them, I have to disagree greatly with one major point. Most of them have Hiccup being bitter to Berk. I don't think he'd be that way because even after he was disowned, he still tried to save the village. So here's my take on it. Please feel free to give me your own opinions as I go along! Oh, and I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, or anything like that. I'm just a huge freaking fan and I absolutely love it. I can also relate to Hiccup a lot for two reasons, the first is, he's always been the same age as me, and we're both people who didn't want to be leaders and have been forced to take on major leadership roles. So without further ado, my own version, I hope you enjoy.**

"Leaving, we're leaving. Let's pack up, looks like you and I are going on a little vacation, forever." Hiccup called, droping the large basket of fish on the ground. Toothless came charging over to him, nuzzling his friend before suddenly becoming alert and growling. "Whoa, Toothless, what is it?" the young Viking asked, worried. He looked around to see Toothless was focused on the entrance. "I guess we should get going huh bud?" he asked, climbing onto the dragons wasting a second, the dragon leaped into the air and Hiccup let out a surprised yelp at the speed before they vanished into the trees.

Astrid then came down the rocks of the cove. She had followed Hiccup there and just heard his voice, so she knew he was nearby. She moved down the stone path, stopping in surprise to see a shield wedged between two boulders. Giving it a tug, she found it wasn't about to come out. She took a step back and brought down her axe with as much strength as she could. The shield split in two and fell away, leaving the opening uninhibited for her to enter the cove. She stood, surprised that no one was there.

"Alright, Hiccup, I heard you in here, come out." she growled. Nothing happened. Then a glint in the water caught her eye. She moved over to the edge of the water and looked in to see a dagger near the edge. Feeling a coldness seep into her, she looked around. There were faint lines cut into the dirt, multiple scorch marks on the ground, and black dragon scales of a species she couldn't identify. She started breathing quickly, trying to make sense of it. It was obvious a dragon had recently been here, and she knew Hiccup had just came in. Yet him and the dragon were gone.

The only logical conclusion she could draw is that Hiccup came to the cove for some reason and a dragon had been here, then carried him off. The dagger and shield told her he came armed, and left defenseless. She felt light headed. Hiccup must have been taken by the dragon, and that could only mean one thing.

Reaching into the water, she grabbed the dagger and put it into her belt, then turned and ran toward Berk. If they acted now, there may still be a chance. After all, just because she was angry with the boy didn't mean she wanted to see anything happen to him!

Xxx

Hiccup and Toothless began flying toward the sea when Hiccup pulled Toothless around. The dragon gave a confused sound, as if asking what they were doing. Hiccup smiled down at him. "Sorry bud, I was just thinking. If I'm not there tomorrow, they'll kill the dragons in the cages. I don't want to see that happen." Hiccup said. Toothless made a sound that was of agreement. "When it gets dark, we'll free the dragons." Hicupp decided. Toothless nodded. He didn't want the other dragons to die either. The two flew back onto the island and moved into the trees near the village, ready to go once all the Vikings were asleep.

Xxx

Astrid stood uneasily outside of the Chief's house. She didn't know how to tell him, or even what to tell him. After all, it may be nothing and she could unnecessarily worry him, but it could also be something and Hiccup could die by her negligence of not doing anything. She knocked at the door and Stoick pulled it open a few seconds later.

"Oh, evenin' lass, what can I do for you?" he asked, happy. She knew it was because of how far his son had come. He was a very proud father and chief. She suddenly realized just how much harder this was going to be.

"Uhm…I need to talk to you sir. It's an emergency." She said. His face slightly fell, as no chief liked to hear the word 'emergency' from one of his people.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I…I followed Hiccup into the cove to talk to him, and I heard him yell so I know he was there, but when I went into the cove…he was gone." she said. Stoick raised an eyebrow. Hiccup usually was off doing crazy stuff, but he was probably hiding from the girl. "I found some dragon scales and scorch marks as well as his dagger." she said, offering it to the chief. Stoick looked down at the dagger, and Astrid could see his mind was formulating the same conclusions that she had.

"Gather every Viking you can, we're going to search for him!" Stoick growled, worried. Astrid nodded and ran, Stoick hesitating just long enough to grab his axe. He wasn't going to loose his son too, not to those beasts.

Xxx

Hiccup saw a large number of Vikings go into the woods. He was mildly surprised, wondering what they were doing. He assumed someone found a dragon hiding somewhere and were all out to get it. He decided to move up his plans, putting a hand on Toothless to let him know.

Toothless charged forward, blasting the arena open. The two slipped in and Toothless blasted open all five cages. The Gronkle, the Monsterous Nightmare, The Deadly Nadder, the Terrible Terror, and the Hideous Zippleback charged out of their pens, ready to attack. However all five paused in confusion. The Nightmare had yet to meet Hiccup, but the other dragons recognized him. It was the scrawny little boy who seemed much different then the other vikings that they had ever met. Not to mention this boy was sitting on the back of a dragon! And not just any dragon, but a Night Fury. They all looked at him in confusion and curiosity.

"You guys have to get out of here." Hiccup said, then he looked down at Toothless, petting his head with a smile. "Come on bud." he said. The two shot up into the sky and the other dragons followed. Hiccup smiled at them, showing them it was alright that they came along, and the six dragons flew away into the night.

Xxx

Stoick returned to the village. Many of the Vikings were still combing the woods, but so far there was no sign of Hiccup. He was intending on seeing if Hiccup had returned home when a wiking ran up to him, in a panic. "Chief, it''s the dragons. They've escaped." the Viking yelled in fear.

Stoick gave him a stunned look before running towards the arena. Sure enough, it was blasted apart and the dragons were gone. The chief felt torn. He had to keep looking for his son, but he also had to find the escaped dragons to keep them from destroying the village.

"Have the remaining Vikings find the escaped dragons and kill them. The others will continue to search for Hiccup!" he ordered. The Viking nodded to show he understood. Gobber meanwhile approached his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find him Stoick. I'm sure he's fine." he said. Stoick sighed.

"I hope so Gobber." he said.


	2. Five years later

"Come on, Bud!" Hiccup encouraged his dragon as they gained more altitude. In the five years that had passed, both boy and dragon had grown greatly. Now both at the age of twenty, they were inseparable.

Hiccup lay flat along Toothless' back, giving him less resistance and allowing the dragon to go faster through the clouds. Hiccup cheered as Toothless did a barrel roll, and the two rose above the white sea below. The Night Fury then slowed down and dove straight into the clouds. They plummeted down toward the sea when Hiccup used his hand to open the tail fin and Toothless pulled out of the dive, gliding so his belly was just off the waves. Hiccup pushed himself up into a sitting position and the two then lazily headed back towards the massive dragons nest, defined by the ice walls created by the great Bewilderbeast.

Hiccup jumped off of Toothless as they entered, met by the five dragons he saved from the arena. In the last few years they had all formed a strong bond. Hiccup had given them names based off of those they reminded him of. The Nightmare had reminded him of Snotlout; while big and obnoxious and very cocky, he did have a soft spot and would do whatever he could to protect those he cared for. Hiccup figured Hookfang would work well for him.

The Gronkle reminded him of Fishlegs, very smart but too intimidated to do what they felt was best. He named her Meatlug, something he thought Fishlegs would come up with on his own.

The Zippleback reminded him of the twins. Not the brightest or the most mature around, but seemly dependable when needed. He had once heard the twins name two sheep Barf and Belch, and the name stuck for the Zippleback.

As for the Deadly Nadder, it reminded him of Astrid. Beautiful and deadly, and no name seemed to fit the powerful reptile more than Stormfly.

The Terrible Terror he named Sharpshot for it's amazing aim.

"Hey guys, how are you?" Hiccup asked with a laugh as he hugged Stormfly, who was the closest. Toothless jumped up excitedly and the six dragons ran off to play. Hiccup watched them go with a smile before removing his helmet and heading inside. The vast open area let the dragons roam free and Toothless bounded along with the others. Hiccup walked along the rock path to the cave he lived in. He didn't live alone however.

"Back from your trip I see." Valka, Hiccup's mother called as he came in. Hiccup smiled and went over to hug his mom. Four years ago, he and his mom were reunited. The night Hiccup had left Berk, Toothless had taken him to the Queen dragon's nest. Knowing Berk would never stop trying to find the nest, Hiccup knew he had to do something. He couldn't just leave them to die, because even though he left, it didn't mean he hated them.

His father was still there, as was Gobber and Astrid after all. If he just left things as they were, they could die. He knew he couldn't be reckless either. He traveled for a year trying to learn as much about other dragons as he could. Eventually he went back to face the dragon Queen. Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, Sharpshot, Stormfly, and Toothless had no intention of letting him go alone, and a few other dragons who Hiccup had saved along the way wanted to stand by him as well. Hiccup planned it out well, but things went to Hel faster than he thought was possible.

In the end they defeated the Red Death, but he lost a leg and was unconscious. The entire archipelago saw dragons as the enemy, so none of the Vikings would be willing to save Hiccup if a group of dragons brought him to them. One dragon, however, knew of a place to take him. There was a dragon nest that he originated from that had a human, a woman that was brought there sixteen years before by a dragon. Just like how the boy was considered a part of their nest, she was considered part of the Bewilderbeast's other dragons figured she would be willing to help.

When they arrived, Valka had been surprised, to say the least. She immediately began treating the boy, and later saw a tell-tale scar on his chin to show her that this boy was...her son! When he woke up she learned that he was indeed her and Stoick's child. It had been a bittersweet reunion. She offered Hiccup to live with her, and he had accepted. The last four years they had lived together, and worked together to rescue dragons. She had taught him everything she had learned in the years she had been there.

"Yeah, we were out getting information." Hiccup said. Valka frowned. There was only one thing Hiccup would be getting information about, and it worried her. "Drago is sending out groups of dragons to raid villages for supplies." he told her, worried.

Valka frowned. She should have known that would have happened. While they both loved dragons and wanted to protect them, the mother and son had very different ways of going about their goals. One of things about Stoick that Valka had liked was his absolute devotion to his people.

However, that meant anything that threatened or was perceived as a threat to those people was dubbed an enemy and had to be eliminated immediately. Stoick saw dragons as beyond understanding, viewing them as evil beasts that would kill before anything else. He only cared about the people. Valka supposed she was not much different. She had given up all hope of Vikings ever changing, seeing them as too stubborn to realize they were in the wrong. Therefore, they were dangerous to her dragons and she had to protect them from the Vikings. She didn't bother protecting humans if she didn't have to, as her first priority was the dragons.

Hiccup was different, though. Her son had a different way of looking at the world. Despite feeling that he had to leave Berk, he didn't hate them or hold it against them. He still had hope for the Vikings and figured that one day they would change their minds. Rather then choosing a side, Hiccup and Toothless had spent their time protecting dragons and Vikings from each other. He would go out to the raids, disarming the Vikings and forcing back the dragons, before bringing all the ones that were willing back to the nest.

He was hoping that one day they would be able to live in peace with each other. Valka had to admit it was impressive. Hiccup was a boy who could never live in either world, as he wasn't a viking or a dragon, but if anything a mix of the two. Valka loved him as her only treasure and respected their differences in their views.

"Hiccup..." she started, already knowing what he was planning.

"Mom, I'm going back out there." he said, confirming her thoughts. Valka frowned. She didn't want to see him get hurt. "I'll be fine." he said, guessing at what her silence meant. She looked at the prosthetic leg and sighed. Hiccup would do what he thought was best, no matter what she said. This wouldn't be the first time he had gone out to do this, but each time she always feared that it would be the time he would not return.

"At least stay for the night before you go back out." she finally said. Hiccup nodded and smiled. "And take the others with you." she said, refering to Hookfang, Stormfly, Barf and Belch, and Meatlug. Hiccup winced. He hated taking them with him because he was afraid of them getting hurt. He liked it when it was just him and Toothless because he only had to watch out for them. However he knew his mom wouldn't change her stance and conceded with a sigh.

"Alright." he agreed. She nodded in approval.

"Good, now I'll make dinner and..." she started, but Hiccup moved quickly, reaching the food before she did.

"How about I make dinner!" Hiccup said quickly. He loved his mother greatly, but never knew how to tell her that she was a terrible cook. She raised an eyebrow but then nodded, backing up. The two smiled and talked, and enjoyed their meal together. Hiccup liked it. It was like his time on Berk.

Everyone was always smiling and trying to enjoy things as much as they could because they never knew when their last day was. With his mom it was the same way, but it was also different. They had their own atmosphere, because they accepted everything about each other. They didn't pick and choose the traits they liked, they just accepted every flaw and every perfection in each other.

After dinner they had gone to bed, and in the early morning Hiccup was up before her. He suited up, wearing leader flight clothes to ward off the cold air, and his Inferno hooked to his leg. He glanced back at the cave where his mom was as he called Toothless over. The other dragons came as well and he looked at each one in turn.

"Well, I'm off guys. Mom wants you to come along, but you don't..." he started, but they were already walking to the exit, and Hiccup knew they had decided they were going too. He jumped onto Toothless and the dragon gave him a... well, toothless grin as he ran out of the cave exit, leaping into the air and flying away from the nest, the other dragons behind him as they went.

xxxxxxxx

Astrid sat in the great hall, sharpening her ax as Stoick talked about their new defense measures against the dragon attacks. The Chief seemed older than he should be, having taken the death of Hiccup harder than most Vikings had thought he could. She couldn't help but think about how things were once long ago. Hiccup had never been one of her favorite people, or even anyone that she really liked. She was rather indifferent about him until his explainable increase in abilities, then, overnight he was gone.

For a year after he disappeared, the dragons were raiding as they always had, but then a year later, all the dragons stopped their attacks. Once in a while a dragon would be spotted, but not raiding them and not attacking them. It seemed as if an sudden peace had fallen over the island.

Then, a few months ago, the raids began again. However, what scared them wasn't the fact that dragons were raiding, but the way they raided. These dragons worked as a team, organized and together. They seemed to have someone or something behind them, pulling the strings and giving commands. On top of that, they were armoured dragons. That was something that didn't make sense to them at all. There was no way dragons could make armour told them that these dragons were somehow controlled by people. It made no sense to them, how could anyone work with dragons, and who would even be crazy enough to try?

Astrid didn't understand. With a sigh, she glanced around the room. Snotlout stood next to his father. The teen had grown quite a bit from when they were kids, but he was still overly cocky, and was such an idiot that Astrid would sooner punch him than talk to him. The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut seemed to enjoy the chaos around them. Astrid was good friends with Ruffnut, as they were the only girls in their age group. Astrid and Tuffnut never really talked though. Fishlegs stood near the door. He had never been the same since Hiccup disappeared. To be more accurate, no one had been the same. Gobber and Stoick were definitely the ones who took his disappearance the hardest though.

Astrid didn't hesitate to join the Berk's ranks to defend the village. Snotlout did as well. Fishlegs only fought when he had to. Instead, he was in charge of training the younger kids. Ruffnut and Tuffnut didn't really have specific jobs, rather, they hung around and caused trouble.

With a sigh she stood up and left. No one bothered to stop her, it was her night on watch anyway. She looked at the sky, and couldn't help but enjoy the sight. Simple things were usually her favorite. She headed out to her guard position and sat down. For a while it was just her and the silence.

"Nice night isn't it?" she turned to see Gobber had joined her. She nodded, looking up at the stars.

"Any night that we're not being attacked is a nice night." she said. Gobber chucked.

"You know what your problem is lassy? You don't know how to relax." he told her. Astrid scowled.

"Relax? We don't have time for that! We have dragons to worry about!" she said. Gobber looked up.

"Sure ya do. Everyone needs to have something." he said. Astrid glared at him.

"I suppose you'll tell me yours is working in your shop." she said. He nodded.

"Yes. It's nice and calming. Hiccup liked it too..." he said before trailing off. He missed his old apprentice. Astrid sighed in understanding.

"What was it like to have Hiccup as an apprentice?" she asked. Normally when Hiccup was brought up in a conversation, everyone would drop the subject. Maybe it was because it was near the anniversary of his disappearance or death, but Astrid decided she wanted to learn more about the boy. Gobber smiled softly.

"Hiccup was a good kid. I taught him everything he knew. He was good at making stuff of his own too. He made a device to throw bolas once. Knocked a Viking out by accident." he said with a small laugh. "He learned quickly too. Only had to show him things once." Gobber continued. Astrid looked down.

"Do you think he was mad at us?" she asked. Gobber laughed.

"Hiccup?! He was never one to hold a grudge." Gobber said. Astrid nodded.

"So, whatever happened to those creations of his?" she asked, wondering why she hadn't seen them if they were good.

"They're in his work room. Since he was always there, I gave him the room in the back of my shop. He has designs all over the walls." Gobber said. Astrid gave him a curious look.

"Can I see them? They might be useful!" she said. Gobber nodded. She was about to say something else when she noticed something in the horizon. Standing up, she pulled out a spyglass to look and see a group of dragons were heading to Berk. "Dragon attack!" she sounded the alarm.

 **So yeah, I figured this would just be ignored, I did not expect such a reception! Thank you guys so much, you are amazing! Thank you Guest, the stargate time traveller, and TheDoctor1998 for your encouraging words. Thank you as well SilvisMN and your right, I overlooked that! Thank you for saying it! ladipretender as well, thank you for your encouraging words and I will be sure to get that right! XD Also, thank you to ArtemisXMC, alon2442, tawnycatgames, Hope10032, JordanFox, SSJSaphira, rodina2000, KiddBit, goodnight raggedy man, Djberneman, Midnight Wonders, Patty 4577, KazeChi, Sanasuke, Berna45, werewolfroe, sarahmaria98, and waitinggamer for your support. I hope you continue to like the story!**


	3. Dragon Raid

**Thank you again for reading and thank you specifically to lightwood912, Toothless lover 13, Lightclaw's Shadow,** **lovezombies4,** **Awaodori,** **Demofnight66** , **Wrath Of The Heavens, jennkaye, LittleSweetGirl,** **DualGigaman, mystery writer5775, Catlyn-Cat987, Motorider7, Zarroc789, ethanpogi, SapphireBlueSea, Aipocanrocinu unicornacopiA, person unknown 686, 202492,** **braveheartcrzy** , **Jakethatguy, AutoCon1, Kittysaysmeowhh, Ana Karoliny,** **and crazychessgurl . Welcome aboard friends! DauterFeralVigilanteDragonLady, those are all good questions and will be answered! Thank you for the complement RandominatorOwl and neobendium as well as the encouragement guest and ladipretender. Midnight Wonders, I'm not exactly sure why the end in cliffhangers. Sometimes it's a good place to stop, and sometimes it's to try and ensure you come back to read. Thank you for the reviews! Also, other guest, I understand you don't like my story, and you may feel free to inform me of that, but please refrain from insulting other readers. Thank you!**

Hiccup and Toothless moved through the sky, looking for any sign of Drago's raiding parties. He had done this often enough in the past and knew what to look for. They could still visibly see one group while the other group only had a trail. Hiccup looked between the trail and the visible group.

"Alright, Stormfly, you're with me. The rest of you, head off that raid and take them back to Mom. Come on, Stormfly!" Hiccup yelled, turning to pursue the trail. Stormfly and Toothless were the fastest dragons. Since they had no idea how far the first raid had gotten, they would be the best chance.

Not only that, but Stormfly had a knack for tracking down others _(1)_. The three flew close to the water, with Stormfly in the lead. Hiccup patted Toothless' head and the young dragon cooed in response. As they flew along, Hiccup kept an eye out for familiar landmarks. As an experienced traveler, Hiccup was still one of the only few in existence that not only had a detailed map of the archipelago, but had also left it and had very detailed maps from surrounding areas and a few far off places. He knew the archipelago well and could locate where he was going with ease.

The direction they were going was headed for Dragon Island, or the island that held the Dragon nest from all those years ago. Hiccup knew that the dragons would most likely rest there before heading off to their target. The question now was: what was the target?

The Dragon Nest hadn't just been the center for the dragon attacks on Berk, but all the islands in the archipelago. The Berserkers, the Meatheads, the Outcasts, Bog-Burglars, Hysteria, and so on were all attacked by the dragons from that nest _(2)_. After the nest fell, the dragon raids had stopped on those places. Hiccup had a slim hope that it meant they could have peace.

That was, until Drago appeared. Valka had told him stories about Drago, and Hiccup thought just maybe he could end this. He had been trying to track Drago down, but so far he had no such luck. Until he could find a way to track down the man without endangering humans or dragons, he would settle for keeping them both from harming each other.

After all day of flying on Toothless' back, they touched down on Dragon Island to rest. Hiccup supposed the dragons had already moved on, but Toothless and Stormfly needed a rest and food before they could continue their pursuit. Stormfly was already looking at the sky, as if confirming Hiccup's thoughts. He looked at the fading sun to see which way the dragons had gone, then he gave a heavy sigh.

There was only one Viking village in that direction that the dragons could easily raid. Berk. It was a place Hiccup hadn't traveled to in five years. He wondered what life was like there in the last five years, how would things have changed if he hadn't left? He wondered how his father and Gobber were. Those two were strong, they were alive, not a doubt in his mind. The same with the other Vikings he knew.

Hiccup felt an uneasiness in his heart. He would never let them get hurt, they were his _family_ after all. It was true they didn't treat him exactly well- they acted like he was a problem child, after all- but at the same time he knew they cared. He was sheltered to not only protect the village, but himself as well. His father never wanted him to help with dragons because he didn't want anything to happen to Hiccup, and Gobber took him in as an apprentice to help give him a sense of self-worth. Near the end of his time there, everyone liked and respected him.

However, it wasn't _him_ that they liked, but his image of what they felt was a real Viking. That was why he left, after all. He _wasn't_ their vision of a true Viking. He wondered what his father thought of him running away. He was probably angry, and even confused. After all, they thought they had given him the greatest honour given to a young teen and he ran from it. That would be confusing to the Vikings.

He knew going back one day would be inevitable, with him doing his rescue missions. Now that he was about to go back, it felt like the return came too fast. With a soft smile to Toothless, he pulled on his helmet and climbed onto his back. "Let's go bud."

xxx

Astrid pulled her axe off her back and started running down into the village. Gobber came running behind her, blowing a horn to alert the village of the impending attack. Now that night had fallen the dragons had the advantage. "For a defense in the center of the village!" Stoick ordered, charging out of his home, hammer clenched tightly in his fist. The other Vikings rushed to do as told. Snotlout ran over to Astrid.

"You alright? They didn't attack yet did they? I didn't miss my chance to show you how awesome I am, did I?" he asked. She shoved him to the ground and headed toward the Great Hall, where she was assigned to guard. Fishlegs came running over. They had recently became partners with the dragon attacks, being assigned to the same guard post. He carried a bludgeon.

The dragons quickly descended on the village. Astrid could see they were the same armoured dragons that had been raiding them. Vikings scattered about, trying to beat down the dragons. Two bolas ricocheted off due to the armor. A dragon lifted up a nearby Viking, as if it would carry him away. Astrid threw her axe as hard as she could, and it hit the side of the dragon's body hard.

The dragon opened it's mouth and the Viking fell to the ground, grabbing her axe and throwing it back to her. The dragon turned to her and Fishlegs, clearly angry. It charged at them both. Astrid lifted her axe to throw it again, but Fishlegs was quicker, throwing his weapon. It hit the dragon in the head and caused it to sway off course, plowing into a nearby home. A second dragon came up behind them, but Stoick leaped onto it to keep it from blasting the two. The dragon and chief, locked in a bitter struggle, rolled into the destroyed house, crashing out of it on the other side. Gobber came running over to help.

"This isn't going well." said Fishlegs in a worried voice.

"Really?" Astrid yelled in a sarcastic tone.

Fishlegs looked at her in surprise. Astrid never really used sarcasm. She was straightforward and didn't say anything that she wasn't thinking. In fact, the only one of them that really used sarcasm was...a blast of fire from a dragon made him stop thinking. They were in a fight, and he'd have to be alert or die.

The twins came running over, a dragon directly behind them. Snotlout tossed a bola and tangled the dragons wings. Seeing her chance to take out one of the enemy, Astrid ran forward, ax raised to plant it as deep into the dragon as she could. A loud whistle pierced the air and all the Vikings and dragons froze, a sound that they all knew, but didn't think they'd ever hear again.

"NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!" someone yelled, and Astrid followed orders. The bola around the dragon was burned off and their main defensive catapult was blasted hard. The dragon flew into the air. A black body moved through the sky, Astrid only jut able to make out it's outline in a few spots. Stoick stood up, ready to face his dragon again when Nadder spikes flew down, separating him from his prey.

The raiding dragons took to the air. A few well placed purple blasts forced the dragons off of Berk. In anger and frustration, Astrid whipped her axe at a dragon she could still see. A purple blast from the invisible Night Fury knocked it off course and fall to the ground, harmless. Then just like that, everything was silent. The dragons were gone.

xxx

Hiccup gathered the dragons together, herding them onto Dragon Island. Now came the hard part. They all landed on the beach, the other dragons tense. Stormfly and Toothless kept a close eye on them, as if daring them to attack the human that stood before them.

Pulling out Inferno, Hiccup released a cloud of gas around his body, before igniting it. The dragons all stood staring at him, trying to figure out what kind of strange dragon this boy could be. Hiccup moved forward, reaching out to the one that appeared to be the leader of the raid. It snapped at him, and Toothless roared.

"It's ok bud. I'm trying to help!" Hiccup said quickly and as soothingly as he could. The dragons all looked at him as he tried again. The dragon tentatively moved toward him, then looking at Hiccup's kind face, and seeing he meant no harm, it calmed down instantly.

Hiccup grinned. "That's it!" he encouraged. He moved forward and removed the armor from the dragon.

"You should all come with me, I know a place that's safe." he said. The dragons looked at each other, and Toothless and Stormfly nodded to show that Hiccup spoke the truth. The leader gave a nod, showing he approved. Hiccup grinned as he quickly removed the heavy armor from the dragons' backs. Then they headed out for the dragon nest.

xxx

"I don't understand, not only is the Night Fury back, but I've never seen dragons act like that before." said Gobber in surprise. Stoick nodded. The last time they had seen the Night Fury was back when Hiccup was...

"What do we do Chief?" asked one of the Vikings. Stoik sighed.

"For now, the attacks have ceased. Focus on rebuilding the village and fixing the damage." Stoik ordered. The villagers nodded and hurried to obey his commands. Stoick turned his attention to Gobber as they left.

"I assume you have a plan?" Gobber asked. Stoick gave him a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, I thought not." Gobber added. The cheif gave him a soft glare, telling him now was not the time.

"Those dragons are taking orders, and they armored." Stoick hissed.

"Yeah, if I didn't know any better I'd think a person was directing them." Gobber said. The large man frowned.

"There's only one person I know of that is capable of that. If it is him, then we're all doomed." Stoick muttered, worried. Gobber gave him a confused look, but it was clear Stoick didn't want to talk about it anymore.

xxx

Hiccup, Toothless, Stormfly, and the other dragons flew back towards the nest. A roar caught his attention and he looked over his shoulder to see Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch all approaching.

They were alone, however, and Hiccup realized they either couldn't stop the raid, or the raiding dragons returned to Drago. He petted Hookfang's head as they caught up. "It's alright, we can't win them all." he said with a sad but encouraging voice. Hookfang gave him a small smile back. He looked ahead and guided Toothless by the stars, it had been a physically and emotionally hard trip and they all just wanted to go home.

 **So, (1) I know Stormfly isn't known for tracking down things, but when me and my Mom were watching the second movie, I noticed that Astrid and Stormfly had no problem in fiding Hiccup and Toothless on an island that they hadn't discovered yet, and Hiccup wasn't even surprised. My guess is that Stormfly can track down those she wants to. (2) Groups of people from the books, except for hysteria, that one is an island from the books.**


	4. Decision

**Chapter four. Yay! So, thank you all for continuing to read this! Thank you flame, I will remember that! XD Welcome aboard Transformers 0, MM995, earth fire water wind, Talocks,iLuvNightFuries** , **Invisible12, Omeiku, Redder45, and Erkore, I hope you enjoy it! neobendium, Thank you very much and I will try to fix that for the future! ladipretender, if I haven't said it yet, I wish to say it now. You are amazing! I'm glad you like it UnicornWithABananaHorn.**

Drago waited for his second raid to return, as the dragons knew what would happen if they were late. However, hours later they still had not returned. "Which group has not returned?" he asked one of his men softly. The man took a hesitant step back, fearing Drago's rage.

"Berk sir." he said. Drago thought about that. He didn't know much about Berk, but they had somehow managed to kill all of the dragons in the raid. After all, if neither raid returned then there was another force at work, but if it was only one group, he figured it had to do with the destination. This did not suit well with him.

"Very well. Send out another raid." he ordered, and the man nodded.

xxx

Valka was petting Cloudjumper as Hiccup entered the nest, a multitude of dragons behind him. She smiled. "Successful journey I see." she said, but when Hiccup removed his helmet and gave her a frown, she sighed. "What happened?" she asked.

"One of the raids got back to Drago, and this raid was hitting Berk." he said. Valka gave a nod in understanding, then she set about helping Hiccup remove the armor on the dragons as the others went to explore their new home. "So, what were you up to?" Hiccup asked. Valka glanced at him as she continued to removed the armor.

"I went and destroyed some more of Drago's traps. He's been looking for us you know." she said. Hiccup nodded. Drago didn't know who they were, only that two people were messing with his dragons. Needless to say, he was furious. Hiccup wished he could just find the man already. Valka knew where he was, he suspected. At the very least, she had a general idea, but she wasn't about to share that information with him. He supposed that was alright. They both knew what he would do when he located Drago's hideout. They finished their work and went into their cave to eat dinner.

"I saw Dad." he decided to say. Valka looked up at him in surprise. "He looked well. No, he didn't see me, but he hasn't changed a bit. I saw him tackling one of the armored dragons." he said. Valka didn't know weather to be amused or appalled. Hiccup smiled. "Gobber was with him too, they're still healthy and in the same shape as when I left. The other teens got older and stronger too." he said.

Valka raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright, Hiccup?" she asked, knowing something was off.

"I just...I wonder what would Berk be like now if I had stayed. Maybe I could have changed their minds, about dragons, about me!" he said. However, Valka just shook her head.

"I told you, I tried to show them too Hiccup, but people are not capable of changing. They will always view dragons as enemies, and dragons will always fear humans." she said.

"But...what if..." Hiccup started but Valka gave him a pointed look.

"There are no 'what if's' Hiccup. That's just how things are." she said firmly. Hiccup looked down, as if he was thinking. "It's the same with Drago. You can't talk to him Hiccup, he's never going to change." she said.

"We can show him he's wrong." Hiccup said. Valka shook her head.

"It's not going to happen. Drago is someone who we are best never coming into contact with. We obey the Alpha. We bring dragons here for a safe place to live, that is all." she said.

Hiccup felt like he was talking to his father again. Neither of them would budge, and they were the opposite sides of a scale. Hiccup wanted to balance that scale. He wanted what they both wanted, for humans and dragons to live in peace. The only way to make that happen was to do something himself. Hiccup sighed in defeat, ending the conversation.

xxx

Gobber and Stoick observed the final touches on rebuilding the village. Gobber patted his friends shoulder with a smile, a way to try and cheer the old chief up. "How's the catapults coming along?" Stoick asked.

"Good as new, I gotta say I've outdone myself this time." Gobber replied proudly. Stoick nodded and moved away to take some more men to new defense positions. Astrid was walking by. "Astrid!" he called, waving her over. The young woman looked over at him, then jogged over.

"What is it Gobber? Do you need help with something?" she asked quickly. Gobber shook his head.

"No, you wanted to see his designs right? Well, I got some time if you do." Gobber said. Astrid knew immediately what he was talking about and nodded.

"Designs? Can I see them?" Fishlegs asked running over. He didn't exactly know what was going on, but it beat sitting around getting ready for another dragon raid. Gobber shrugged, however Astrid gave him a nervous look.

"Actually, Fishlegs, you can go look later. I kinda wanted to go alone." Astrid said. Fishlegs looked disappointed, but he didn't argue. Gobber and Astrid then headed to Gobber's shop. They moved into the backroom where Hiccup used to work.

"Haven't changed a thing." Gobber informed her.

Astrid was amazed. Drawings were all over the walls. They were different weapon designs, dragon sketches, even drawings of her and the others as teens. There were a small handful of small weapons, mostly daggers. Hiccup never seemed to like big weapons anyway. Not only were they hard for him to handle, but he never needed them.

The only other weapon she saw him with was an axe, and that was most likely his fathers idea. One drawing caught her attention though. It was different than the others. A sketch of a dragon she didn't recognize. She looked at Gobber, then back to the drawing.

"That boy always was out playing in the woods. I'm sure he's seen a few different types of dragons that we don't normally see. I'm surprised he didn't get eaten by any of them." Gobber said, then he trailed off realizing that as far as they knew, he had been eaten by a dragon.

Astrid didn't seem to be listening to him, as she went back to looking around the room. Her eyes caught on a helmet in the back of his desk. She had only seen that helmet once, on their last day in the arena. Hiccup had a helmet, but never used it? That didn't make much sense to her. However, she never wore her helmet either. It would distract her or slip down and block her field of vision, so he just left the thing at home.

Hiccup was a very creative person, since many of his designs made no sense. THe more she looked each one over, however, she noticed just how useful they could be.

"Gobber, have you ever tried to make any of these?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No lass, I figured since they were his and he wasn't here to see them, I'd just leave them be." the big man said. Astrid looked at the them again.

"But wouldn't it be a kinder gesture to let him protect the village with his designs?" she asked. She wanted to see them be used. They hadn't let him protect them before, the least they could do was let him help now. Gobber thought about it and gave her an unsure look.

"I'll think about it." he said. She nodded and left, leaving Gobber to look around himself.

xxx

Hiccup checked to see if his mother was awake one last time before sneaking out. If he was being honest with himself, he had no plan or idea what he was going to do, but this senseless war had gone on long enough and someone had to do something. He would figure it out as he went along.

He called Toothless, and the Night Fury bounded over, rubbing up against him. "Come on bud, we're going out again." he said softly. Toothless gave him an excited look, ready to go flying again. Hiccup led as they went out of the cave, to find Hookfang, Stormfly, Barf and Belch, Meatlug, ans Sharpshot all waiting.

"What? No, you guys can't come this time." he said firmly, but none of them moved. "Look, it's not safe. I don't even know what we're doing!" Hiccup said. The dragons shook their heads, as if telling him they weren't letting him go alone. "If Mom see's that your all gone too, she'll know what we're doing."

Hiccup said, despite the fact he still wasn't extremely sure himself. However, these dragons knew Hiccup better than anyone else did. They knew how reckless and impulsive he could be when he was doing what he thought would be best for both humans and dragons. Therefore, they did not want him going out there without them.

Realizing he lost, Hiccup sighed. "Fine, but you have to promise to listen to me." Hiccup said. Hookfang gave him an amused look, and Hiccup knew he was basically telling him 'why? It's not like you can stop us anyway.' He frowned, not amused. "Whatever, let's just go!" he said. The dragons all smiled in their victory and followed Toothless into the sky.

xxx

Valka woke up to see Hiccup, Toothless, Hookfang, Stormfly, Meatlug, Sharpshot, and Barf and Belch were gone. Livid, she paced around the cave. She didn't know if she should go after him or what. Cloudjumper then came in, and motioned for her to follow. Valka did, and made her way over to the Alpha, apparently he had a job for her.

Of all the dragons, he and Cloudjumper were the ones she had the greatest bond with. The Alpha signaled that he was leaving, and she knew he wanted her to come to. They had done this a few times in the past. He had located a group of Drago's dragon trappers and wanted to eliminate the base and free the trapped dragons. Valka nodded showing she understood, and with a hope that Hiccup wouldn't do anything ridiculous, left with the two dragons to destroy another base.

xxx

Snotlout walked through the village, spotting Tuffnut and Ruffnut. "Hey babe, did I tell you you look nice today?" he asked Ruffnut. She scowled at him, making it as clear as she could in her expression that she was not amused. Snotlout had been flirting with Astrid for a long time, and that didn't bother her, but since he hasn't gotten anywhere with her, he began flirting with Ruffnut as well. Tuffnut rolled his eyes, not amused either.

"What do you want Snotlout?" Ruffnut asked, annoyed.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. Astrid seemed down so..." he started.

"Oh, you noticed that too!" Fishlegs asked, running over. He looked over at the twins before continuing. "Last time I saw her she seemed down too, and Gobber was going to show her some designs of something." he said. The others looked at him in surprise.

"Since when does Gobber make designs? Doesn't he know how to make weapons?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, hasn't be been doing it for like...years?" Tuffnut asked. Snotlout rolled his eyes.

"Maybe it's not one of his designs." he said. Fishlegs nodded to show he agreed.

"Yeah, but I wonder who else could have made them." he said. The others shrugged to show they really didn't care.

"I care more about those dragons being armored and them retreating the instant the Night Fury arrives." Snotlout said.

"Why?" Ruffnut asked, not really caring. She didn't see how it effected Berk, so it wasn't something that concerned her.

"Because it means someone had to put that armor on them. It's made of metal after all." Fishlegs said. Snotlout gave him a 'are you an idiot' look.

"No! Because now that the Night Fury is back, I will get to be the first person to kill it!" he said with a grin.

"I don't think that's going to happen." Fishlegs said.

"Oh yeah, watch me!" Snotlout decided. He strolled away, leaving Fishlegs to huff in annoyance. Snotlout didn't understand the danger that this meant. If someone could control dragons, to get their destructive abilities condensed...then the Vikings didn't stand a chance. It was only a matter of time.

xxx

Hiccup landed on Dragon Island, hoping to get an idea of where to go. If he wanted to try and change people's minds about dragons, he assumed the best place to try was Berk. After all, that was where he was from, and his dad was as stubborn as they come. He didn't know if he was really ready to go home yet, though.

Maybe another island would be best, and by then rumors of a dragon rider could reach Berk. Then it would be easier to deal with. However, there was that ever presenting problem of facing his father. He didn't want to see the disappointment or anger in his fathers face when he explained why he ran away. He was also afraid his father wouldn't give him a chance. Not only that, but he was worried they'd kill his dragons before he got a chance to talk to them.

All thoughts were banished from his mind as a group of dragons flew over his head. Hiccup realized with horror that it was a group of Drago's dragons. But why? Drago never sent them out so close to each other! Had he been angry that the dragons from Berk never returned? If that was the case, then they were headed straight to Berk. That meant this wasn't a simple raid, this was possibly meant to destroy the village.

Hiccup looked up to the sky to see that it was getting close to dusk. "Come on bud," he yelled, hopping on Toothless' back. They took to the air, the other dragons quickly following. Hiccup and Toothless moved out to the front of the group, trying to stop them.

The dragon was not amused by their attempt, and sent a burst of hot flames at them. Toothless wrapped around Hiccup, an attempt to protect him. Hookfang and Stormfly immediately returned fire, and the dragons separated, flying around the group before reforming and heading to Berk.

"We have to try to stop them!" Hiccup said. They flew after the dragons. He had no worries about speed, because these heavily armored dragons flew at the same speed as Meatlug, who was the slowest on their side. They made it to the group of dragons again, but they ignored the young man and his dragons.

Hiccup didn't give up. But he noticed by how dark it had gotten during his attempts that a lot of time had passed, and looking over his shoulder he could see the rocks of Berk. As a last ditch attempt, he had the dragons all fire at once. It spooked the attacking dragons, and they scattered.

Many of them headed back to Dragon Island, but a few slipped by, headed right for Berk. "You've got to be kidding me!" Hiccup cried, and looked down at Toothless. "What do you think bud?" he asked. The dragon nodded to show he was up for pursuing them. "Alright, let's go bud!" he yelled, and they shot towards Berk.

 **I wanted to focus on the other vikings, not just Astrid, Gobber, and Stoick, so I added the bit with the others. So Drago's been introduced, as the other dragons and riders...I guess I'm just missing Grump, Skullcrusher, and Eret. I'm getting there. I'm sure you all know where Valka is going.**


	5. Tension

**So yeah, here we go again, I can't tell you guys how awesome you all are! Thank you and welcome KitKatLove96,** **fungame2, Copper360, TD90,** **MacAtk1234, horseygirlforthewin** , **XxNightClassxX, The Era Thief,** **Catspirit, and DragonThestralRider. Thank you guests, I'm glad you like it, and your amazing neobendium, thank you. As for Era Thief, I guess we'll see XD, and ladipretender, you do not ramble. You're long reviews always bring a smile to my face when I read them and I'm so glad you like it enough to have so much input! I chose the title decisions because multiple characters made decisions that will effect their future for this, and this one is really tense of a few characters, so I decided to go with tension. Hope you all like it!** **Well then, on with the story!**

Eret looked around at their haul for Drago. He was quite proud of how many dragons they had gathered and knew Drago would be pleased. After all, only a master dragon trapper like himself could gather such a large number of dragons together in such a sparse location.

He had been warned that someone was going around and destroying their traps. Drago had a reward out for whoever brought the troublemaker in, but no one had any clues as to who they could be. It had to be more than one after all, since the traps were so far apart without a trace of a person around.

The only way they could disappear completely as they had and done so much damage with less than a massive group was to have a riding dragon. Seeing as how even Drago couldn't ride dragons, he was sure that it wasn't the case. His men put the last new dragon in its pen. It was going to be a wonderful evening before they would ship out to deliver this new batch of dragons.

xxx

Stoick and Gobber walked around the village. Night was falling and the Vikings were all asleep. The last raid had been a few days now, and it still bothered Stoick a lot more than he wanted to let on. "So, who is this man who could possibly be controlling the dragons?" Gobber asked. The cheif glanced over at him.

"His name is Drago Bludvist. I went to a gathering of chieftains to discuss the dragons. This man named Drago entered and told us about how he could control dragons and would protect the people from them, if we agreed to bow down to him." Stoick said. Gobber shook his head, that would never happen. "In response to our refusal, he left and armored dragons attacked. I was the only one who escaped. There is no one else who it could possibly be." Stoick said.

"So only someone as evil as that man can get along with bloodthirsty beast, huh?" Gobber asked. Stoick sighed.

"We should turn in for the night. The last raid was just a few days ago, I doubt we'll be attacked before the week is out." Stoick said. Gobber nodded in agreement.

The two turned to go home when a movement caught Stoick's eye. Pulling out his spyglass, he tried to look out at the sea, but it was a new moon and the lack of moonlight didn't allow him to see very far. He decided it was most likely a bird until a bright explosion of fire lit up the sky. In the glow of the flames he could see dragons.

"DRAGON ATTACK!" Gobber yelled, and Stoick blew on a horn. Dragons attacking them now made no sense, but now wasn't the time to question it. They'd have a chance to do that later. Confused and groggy Vikings began to exit their home, not understanding what was going on for a second, before becoming alert and armed.

Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout also joined them just as the first dragon arrived. Stoick was surprised. Normally there were vast numbers of dragons, but this time he could barley count a dozen. On top of that, they weren't organized, but rather in a fear driven scramble, much like the way things were years ago. Acting quickly, Gobber ran towards the catapult, however a high pitched whistle made him stop. The catapult erupted in a purple light just as the call of 'NIGHT FURY' was yelled by the surrounding Vikings.

Jumping to her feet, Astrid aimed her axe at a nearby dragon. Just as she went to throw it however, a small fire blast hit her ax handle, and the heat forced her to drop it. Looking up, she saw a small green terror above her, smoke still pouring from its nose. In anger, she grabbed a rock and threw it at the small dragon, but it didn't seem phased.

Snotlout ran at the dragon that she tried to kill, hammer raised, when suddenly he was airborne. He looked up to see a red Monstrous Nightmare had grabbed his hammer, intending on taking it from him, but accidentally took him as well! Snotlout began screaming and kicking, and the dragon released the hammer, dropping the young man onto Gobber.

The twins went after another dragon, only to be forced back by Nadder spines. Tuffnut didn't move fast enough, however, but before the last one could hit him, Fishlegs pushed him aside and charged. A Zippleback flew between him and the dragon, taking his weapon and tossing it to a Gronkle that ate it.

Meanwhile, a Viking got picked up by one of the armored dragons, and a purple shot hit the dragon. The Viking was dropped, and a black body suddenly caught him and gently put him down before disappearing again.

Stoick threw a small torch into one of their massive torches, and rose it into the air so they could see what was going on. Most of the raiding dragons were leaving, being chased off by unarmored dragons. Astrid grit her teeth. This was her home, she should be defending it, but how? The problem was, there was almost nothing they could do with the Night Fury around.

The only way to run out all the dragons was to get ride of the Night Fury too. It was impossible though, no one had ever shot down a Night Fury, aside from Hiccup's claim...Astrid blinked in surprise. For the last five years the Night Fury hadn't shown up, in fact, the last time they had seen it was the day Hiccup said he shot it down! Maybe there was truth to what he said. It could have killed the Night Fury and this could be a different one, or it was scared off from attacking for a while.

Either way, it was worth a shot. She tried to remember how he shot it down, but came up with nothing. Wondering if Gobber had recreated any of Hiccup's inventions, she ran to where she had last seen him. "Gobber, did you make any of Hiccup's designs?" she asked, getting a surprised look from Stoick. Gobber thought for a second.

"Just the one, that device he made to throw bolas." he said. She nodded and ran off, heading to his shop. As she went, she saw Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs, come with me, I need your help!" she yelled, not waiting to see if he obeyed or not. She ran into the shop and looked around, finally seeing a strange cannon-like object.

"What is that?" Fishlegs asked, looking at it too.

"Something Hiccup designed, now help me!" she said. Nodding, Fishlegs hurried to help Astrid grab the device and wheel it outside. Astrid set it up and sat waiting. The dragons were still around, so the Night Fury had to be there. Then they heard a loud whistle. Astrid pointed it toward the whistle and pulled the trigger, watching the bola vanish into the darkness.

xxx

Hiccup placed a hand on Toothless' head. All the raiding dragons were leaving, and it was time they left to. Toothless let loose a plasma blast to signal the others it was time to go. A whistling sound reached them and suddenly a bola end whizzed by Hiccup. He turned to see it go, not seeing the other side wrap around him. A startled and painful yell ripped from him as the rope yanked on him, wrapping around and ripping him off Toothless' back.

His sudden dead weight falling off and the pulling on the saddle that Hiccup was fastened to startled the dragon, and they both plummeted to the ground. They hit hard, and the bola was wrapped around Hiccup's arms, preventing him from reaching Inferno.

xxx

Stoick and Gobber watched as the dragons flew away when they suddenly heard a yelp above them, and seconds later a dragon crashed next to them. Other vikings looked over in surprise, not recognizing this type of dragon, but that dark black color did remind Stoick of something.

Then everyone froze in shock as a leather clad person stood up, groaning. "Wasn't expecting that." the male said, his voice muffled by his helmet. The dragon growled and the male turned to see he had an audience.

Snotlout saw his chance, charging at both the man and the dragon. However a blast of fire forced him back, as the Nightmare, Zippleback, Gronkle, and Nadder arrived, forming a protective circle around the man and his dragon. A terror flew over and burnt off the rope, allowing the man to jump onto the dragons back, and they flew into the air, leaving a group of stunned Vikings behind.

"So ah...was that Drago?" Gobber asked slowly. Stoick shook his head slowly in response, too stunned to speak.

xxx

Eret started to head inside for the night, when a loud roar reached his ears. Looking out into the distance, he saw a dragon, hovering in the air. Standing on it's back however was a figure, clad in blue that he couldn't see, carrying a staff. Before he could even question what was going on, an enormous pure white dragon rose out of the sea behind them.

"DRAGONS!" Eret tried to yell, warning his men, but the enormous dragon reared back and with a single breath, spit huge pillars of ice. The fort exploded into ice, wood flying everywhere. Eret could hear many of his men screaming in surprise and pain. The dragons that they captured all burst from their cages into the air, hurrying over to the huge dragon.

Then the dragon dove back into the sea, and the dragons all flew away into the night. Eret was stunned. He never thought it was possible, yet he just saw a person on a dragon. Then reality caught up with him, his fort was in tatters and all his dragons gone. The scar on his chest burned with a fear he had never forgotten. Drago was going to murder him!

xxx

Hiccup and Toothless weren't even on the ground of dragon island before Hiccup unhooked himself and jumped off the dragons back, pulling off his helmet and throwing his body into the sand. They saw him! Well, not him personally, but they saw a human riding a dragon. He messed up! He had never felt like such an idiot in his life.

Toothless hadn't expected that bola either, and Hiccup was stunned that someone on Berk could throw the bola that hard. It didn't make sense, after all the bola thrown by humans only goes so fast, that one was like it was shot out of a cannon.

Hiccup paused at that thought. It did seem like it was shot out of a cannon! But that didn't make sense either. The only design for something like that on the island was his design, and that was scrapped by Gobber and destroyed by a Nightmare. No one would have rebuilt it! The more he thought about it, the more sense it made though. There was just one thing, why would they finally use his designs?

Deciding it didn't matter if they finally used his designs or not, Hiccup growled in frustration. They wouldn't trust him, and Berk just became something that was not probable to not possible! Toothless walked over and put his head down in Hiccup's face, trying to see if he was alright. Hiccup remembered the raid dragons. They were all gathered there on the island, guarded by Stormfly, Hookfang, Barf and Belch, and Meatlug. Hiccup quickly approached them and removed their armor. The whole time, his mind was reeling. He looked to Toothless to see what he would do next. Toothless, however, had decided to go along with what Hiccup choose, and was no help.

When he finished his task, he realized the extent of what happened. Two raids on Berk had been prevented. Drago was going to _target_ Berk now. He couldn't abandon them, not after it was his fault that Drago was now targeting Berk. He had to come up with a plan. But first, the dragons.

He picked up Sharpshot and smiled at the small dragon. "Can you do me a favor and take these guys back to the nest?" he asked. The dragon scratched its ear, nodded, then took to the air. The raid dragons followed, leaving only Hiccup, Toothless, Hookfang, Stormfly, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch. Hookfang looked at him expectantly, as if asking 'are you done with you tantrum and have made a decision?' Hiccup smiled at the dragons.

"Thanks for saving us back there. Drago is going to target Berk now, and I can't just leave them without trying. If you don't want to help you can go back to the nest. This is going to be dangerous, and I won't ask any of you to risk your lives to help me." Hiccup said.

The dragons all gave him a look as if saying 'you're an idiot!'. He knew they'd go with him, and this was most definetly not the most dangerous thing they had ever done. Hiccup nodded.

"Alright, thank you. Now I just need to know what I'm going to do!" he decided.

xxx

Stoick stood in the Great Hall, the Vikings yelling in fear and anger of what they had seen. They wanted an explanation, but Stoick didn't have one for them. That person on the dragon's back spooked him as well.

Not only was that man riding a dragon, but the other dragons came to his aid without his request. They cared for him, and risked danger to protect him. He didn't understand. Dragons were evil and they didn't care about humans, so why did they protect this human? Was he with Drago? Stoick was too confused himself to be of any help to his people.

"Alright, settle down now! You all know what happened tonight, but there's not much we can do about it now. Let's just call it a night and we'll talk in the morning!" Gobber yelled at the Vikings. They reluctantly left, one by one, and Stoick gave a grateful smile to his friend. Tomorrow was going to be a rough day.


	6. First one

**This is defiantly one of my longer chapters, but I like it! neobendium, Thank you for telling me. I don't have a smaller screen so I was not aware. I will try to fix that so it is easier to read! Thank you for the review as well, it made my day! Thank you as well for reviewing The Era Thief, HappyPup1, guests, Amy, and of course ladipretender. Your continued support is greatly received! Welcome to the story Kaylapicard, SingStar234, jellegrunt, 629kat, awkward2122, Kazarina, DarkieForFun, imjustanotherPJOandHoOfangirl, EMERALD EMPIRES, Christinme, .9279, Kaylapicard, .9279, Pendraco, Sgt. McMaf, and Eragonfan33. I hope you continue to enjoy it! This chapter was incredibly difficult for me, but I hope I captured it well enough. I rewrote it about eight times and I thought this was the best version.**

Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut sat in the great hall eating breakfast. No one was really talking, too amazed at what they learned the night before. "I can't believe he got away!" Snotlout hissed, annoyed that his moment for glory was snatched away. There had been another reason for him wanting to gain fame recently.

Everyone knew Stoick was near the end of his days as Chief, and would soon be looking for an heir. Despite that he would rather Hiccup to have still been around, he did have to acknowledge that being Chief was up for grabs. If he could kill the Night Fury, then the chances of him being selected would be the best. Stoick never had the heart to select another heir after all.

"There's a reason no one has killed them before." Fishlegs said as a peace offering.

"Uhm...I'm pretty sure that had nothing to do with people riding them." Ruffnut replied.

"Yeah, like how is that even possible?" Tuffnut asked. Fishlegs looked down, the _Book of Dragons_ in his hands. He had read and reread the book all through the night, but he couldn't find anything helpful to their situation.

"I don't know, but I really want to find out." he decided. The others laughed.

"Oh yeah? Good luck with that!" yelled Snotlout.

Fishlegs clenched a fist. Something had been bothering him. After Hiccup vanished, Astrid put one of the strange dragon scales in the Book, hoping that one day they would find the dragon they belonged to. Fishlegs had spent all night looking through the book when the scale fell to the ground. It blended into the dark perfectly, and he couldn't find it until morning. The only dragon that he could think of like that, was a Night Fury. The Night Fury disappeared around the same time as Hiccup, and now the Night Fury was back, and someone was riding it!

Thinking back about the unlikely teen, Hiccup had a strange way with dragons. They never hurt him, and he never tried to hurt them. He was able to defeat them with just his hands! He even claimed that he hit a Night Fury a month before he vanished, and on the last occasion they saw one for years. He wondered, there was almost no chance that it was, but if the dragon rider was Hiccup...if Hiccup had found out something that they didn't know...just maybe this dragon rider was an ally. After all, it did appear that he didn't want to hurt them.

Fishlegs knew his imagination was stretching it quite a bit, so he choose not to tell anyone what he was thinking.

The twins watched the two before getting board and smashing their heads together in a challenge. Ruffnut was actually worried, but she didn't like to show it. That rider could spell doom for the village. After all, he was riding a Night Fury! The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself!

She never even thought it was possible to get near a dragon, yet this strange man was being saved and protected by them. Tuffnut was actually worried as well. While the twins liked destruction, they liked _reasonable_ destruction, not the complete annihilation of their village. They knew the others would figure out something.

xxx

Hiccup sat in the cove, petting Toothless as the other dragons rested. He was so close, but still had no plan. He couldn't just ride up on a dragon, and he sure as Hel couldn't just walk into the village from the cove. Not to mention, someone may recognize him without his helmet but Berk wouldn't take to him wearing his helmet well either.

He debated again on giving up and going home, but he knew Drago was merciless and relentless. He had to make sure they would be fine until Drago was eliminated. Hiccup sighed.

"Yeah, I'm open to ideas!" he said, throwing the decision to the dragons. None of them seemed to be helpful though.

Barf and Belch were sleeping, Hookfang was scratching an itch, Meatlug was eating, and Stormfly was looking at birds flying overhead. Hiccup sighed looking at Toothless.

"I guess there's no good way to end this, huh, bud?" he asked. Toothless nuzzled him. Looking back, Hiccup wished that he stayed and confronted this five years ago. But Valka had said there were no 'what if's' in life, and he decided right then that she was right. He couldn't keep looking back at things from the past, but had to look forward.

Both of his parents thought dragons and Vikings could never live together in peace, and Hiccup wanted to show them that they were wrong. It was possible! Maybe not probable, but possible! They could do it. He stood back up and petted Toothless.

"Alright bud, this is going to be stupid and crazy, but I want you to stay here. There's something I gotta do alone. If I need you, I'll call, alright? Look after the others for me." he said. Toothless gave him a worried look, but nodded nonetheless. Hiccup smiled a thank you.

xxx

Stoick looked around the village. The catapult was once again ruined, the village had quite a few burns, but it fared quite better than the last attack. Now that he thought about it, that attack fared better than the ones before it. He then saw Gobber, working in his shop, having a strange contraption next to him. "Is this what Astrid used last night?" Stoick asked, approaching. Gobber nodded.

"Yeah, I fixed the trigger, Hiccup's design was far too sensitive. A slight touch and it would go off, but now..." he said, adding a few taps to show his point. However, the contraption flew open and launched a bola, hitting a Viking and knocking him down. "Ah...still working on it." Gobber said quickly.

Stoick gave him a small sad smile. Hiccup would be glad to know that he was helping the village. He just wished Hiccup could have been there to see it.

"Well done Gobber." he decided to say. Gobber seemed surprised that Stoick approved. He had figured that he would want as little reminders around so that for at least a few hours everyday, he could bury the sadness in his work. Gobber smiled at his friend.

"Listen Stoick...about last night..." Gobber started.

"I'm already on it. I have patrols looking for the Night Fury. I want the rider alive so he can tell us what he knows about the dragon raids." Stoick said. Gobber waved his hook at him, to show that wasn't what he was talking about.

"I meant your thoughts that the mastermind behind it all is Drago! You honestly believe it's him?" Gobber asked. Stoick nodded.

"There is no other it could be. If he has an army of dragons obeying his command...then we don't stand a chance Gobber. We're Vikings, we can only do so much." he said softly.

Gobber winced. This was a far cry from the man who used to believe Vikings could do anything. Gobber looked back towards Hiccup's work room. It was strange. That drawing of a dragon that Hiccup made looked an awful lot like the Night Fury. Except this one had strange fins all down it's back. He assumed it was a different Night Fury than the one Hiccup saw, but Hiccup still saw one! That in itself was confusing.

xxx

Eret was in a panic. He had sent one of his men to go tell Drago that there was a dragon rider, and that they were working with the Alpha dragon. Drago had been looking for the dragons nest to take all the dragons there. It was the biggest sanctuary for the dragons. None of them expected for it to hold a dragon rider, however!

Drago would most likely move up his plans to capture the nest, and that meant he would want a large number in his new shipment, that was due soon. If he didn't deliver, he was dead, and Drago did not take excuses. Eret began yelling orders to his men. They would spend the next few days searching for new dragons, then return to Drago. If he didn't go willingly, after all, then Drago would send a dragon to kill them. At least this way they had a sporting shot.

xxx

Astrid threw her axe into the forest, planting it deep into a tree. Running over, she ripped it out and threw it again, destroying a sapling. They escaped! She caught a Night Fury, and it escaped! She hadn't gotten a chance to see it, and it really made her angry. Apparently it also had a person riding it! How was that even possible? Deciding that she didn't care, the launched her axe again, this time missing her target due to her anger and slamming in against a large stone.

She would capture that dragon rider and demand that he tell her what was going on. She wondered, though. Dragons were strong and powerful creatures, and clearly they can stand up to each other. If dragons were able to be trained, could it be possible for Berk to train some as well and use them to defend the village? That in itself seemed impossible, too many people hated dragons and had animosity built up for generations, but it was an interesting thought.

xxx

Hiccup hesitated, not really sure how to handle this. Returning to the village would require diplomacy and delicacy. After all, he knew they would not be happy to see him after he ran away, and then waltzed into the village half a decade later. He pulled his helmet over his head and tried to think of a way to do this. He knew approaching his father first was out of the question. He would have to have Gobber with him to do that. After all, he listened to Gobber...most of the time. He frowned. Why couldn't this be like facing a wild dragon? That was so much easier!

Taking a few hesitant steps forward, Hiccup decided he would first go see his old trade master. That would involve going through the entire village and arriving at the smith's shop without anyone noticing that he had the same appearance as the dragon rider from the night before. He figured he should probably wait until nightfall. He knew Gobber would be the easiest to talk to...on second thought he decided that would be just as hard. He was afraid of the disappointment both men would give him. So that leaves the question of who he could approach first again.

As Hiccup stood debating, he didn't see Astrid come out of the trees. She saw him though. Realizing he wasn't one of the village, she snuck behind a rock, and began to stealthily approach him. The man was almost in her grasp when she stepped on a twig. The man leaped into action, turning around and drawing Inferno, lighting the blade on fire and forcing the startled girl to jump back. When he saw her he smothered the blade and hooked it back on his leg. She looked him over and he looked her over. "Who are you? The dragon rider?" she asked.

"Is that what they're calling me? That actually sounds pretty cool." he said, moving his arms as he spoke. Astrid was not amused however. She removed her axe from her back and held it where he could see it.

"The Chief wants you brought in alive, for now." she said. The man shrugged.

"I guess that's to be expected." he said, a little hesitant. She narrowed her eyes. Was he not taking her seriously?

"Where are your dragons? And what are you doing here? Are you planning an attack on Berk?" she asked. He recoiled a bit, as if he couldn't believe what she was asking.

"What? Okay, first off they're not here, and secondly, I'm not planning an attack on Berk, I'm trying to save Berk!" he said, throwing out his arms for emphasis. Astrid slightly lowered her axe. Something about him was putting her at ease, and she didn't know how to take it. He also just claimed he was trying to protect Berk! But he was allied with the dragons.

"Why?" she asked. His head went down, as if he was looking at the ground, possibly thinking. Then the small amount of trust Astrid had built up vanished. He was probably going to lie. She raised her axe again and the man sighed.

"Fine Astrid." he said, and this time she dropped her axe. He knew her name!

Hiccup sighed as he looked her over. He assumed now was as good of a time as any. He no longer had to worry about finding someone, since she found him. He reached up and pulled off his helmet. She stood stunned, as if she knew who he was but also couldn't place it.

"It's me Astrid, Hiccup." he said. She didn't move or say anything for a minute, then suddenly she yelled. Rolling, she grabbed her axe and attacked. Hiccup yelped in surprise, pulling out Inferno. It wasn't meant for combat, only to help tame dragons, but he could use it when he had to. He blocked one of her attacks, then sidestepped. "Astrid, what are you doing?" He asked, shocked.

"You're not Hiccup! Hiccup died five years ago after he was carried away by a dragon!" she yelled, swinging at him with all her strength. Hiccup dodged the attack.

"What?! No, I'm not dead! Toothless would never harm me!" he protested, then a cold feeling crept over him as he grabbed the handle on Astrid's axe, trying to force her to hold still for a second. "Does everyone think I'm dead?" he asked. Astrid glared at him.

"Hiccup is dead. I don't know who you are or what game your playing, but I know he was carried off by a dragon, I saw it." she said firmly. Hiccup nodded. That was true enough.

"Yeah I left with Toothless, but he didn't kill me! He's my best friend." he said. As if on cue, maybe because they heard him yelling, Toothless came charging over. Hookfang, Stormfly, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch with him. "Uhm guys what are you doing here?" he asked in a worried voice.

Astrid was still armed and angry. She pushed Hiccup off her axe and aimed it Toothless. "No!" Hiccup yelled, leaping onto her arm and dragging her to the ground. He pulled her axe away and threw it into a tree. "Settle down!" he tried to tell the very riled and upset dragons. They all glared at Astrid, not amused by her attempts to attack Hiccup.

Hiccup placed himself between the Viking and the dragons, and they all settled down, but didn't move or stop glared at each other. "Please, just listen to me." Hiccup said, holding out a hand to Astrid.

Looking up at him, she could see it. This was Stoick's son! Accepting the hand, she let him pull her to her feet, just before she hit him, hard. "OWW! Why would you do that!?" yelled Hiccup. Toothless charged forward again, but Hiccup put out an arm in front of him. "It's okay bud." he said.

"That is for letting us all believe that you were dead!" she yelled at him. Hiccup looked away.

"Well I never thought you guys would think I was dead. I figured no one would see me come to the arena and just assume I ran away. I didn't know you'd follow me to the cove!" he snapped. Astrid looked at him, then past him at the dragons. Hiccup could tell she was debating on what to do. "Listen to me Astrid, I just want to help." he said. She took a step back.

"I am not listening to anything you have to say." she said. Hiccup held up his hands.

"Then I won't speak, but let me show you, but please, just trust me." he said, holding out a hand.

Astrid debated. She could trust this boy and see what he wanted, risking her life if he turned out to be lying; or she could go tell the Chief what was going on. However as long as she remembered Hiccup, he had never lied. Yet, this wasn't the Hiccup she knew. He had been with dragons for five years. She held her hand close to her chest, but something kept her there. Maybe it was the thought that Hiccup may just be right.

Seeing him standing there with those dragons was starting to confuse her. Were they really the enemy? Before she knew what she was doing, she reached a hand out to him. Hiccup looked relieved as he took her hand, and gently led her over to Toothless. Toothless growled, making her pull back a bit, and Hiccup let her. "It's okay bud, she's a friend." he pleaded. Then the dragon stopped and Hiccup led her forward again.

Astrid took careful steps, ready to bolt when things went wrong. Hiccup then held her hand in place, just in front of the dragons face. She felt a sudden panic, but then the dragon moved forward and put his head on her hand. It was only for a second, then he backed up.

Astrid stood in shock. This was the most deadly dragon in their world, and it just let her pet it like it was nothing. Hiccup smiled at her, then led her forward again. This time it was to the dragon's back. He leaped into a saddle and held out a hand for her. The dragon gave a small growl, but she decided that Hiccup hadn't led her wrong yet. She took his hand and climbed into the saddle behind him.

"The rest of you go back to the cove. Toothless, let's go...gently..." he said, as if he knew something that the dragon was up to that she wasn't aware of. Before she could decide to change her mind though, the dragon leaped into the air and over the trees. The speed was so fast, that Astrid felt she was going to fall. In fear, she clung to Hiccup in front of her. "Toothless, what are you doing? We need her to like us!" Hiccup yelled as they shot over to the other side of the island.

Toothless plummeted into the water, then shot into the sky. "Toothless!" screamed Hiccup in protest. Astrid was terrified for the first time in her life. She cracked her eyes open to see the dragon was staring at her. She realized what he wanted.

"I'm sorry! For everything!" she yelled, slamming her eyes closed again. The dragon suddenly slowed down, and smoothed out the flight. Astrid shook slightly, the experience having terrified her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. This world was so different, so beautiful.

They were in between large clouds, all circling around her. It was so different, and a feeling of being free filled her heart. Smiling, she unwrapped one hand from around Hiccup to touch the clouds, then reach down and pet the dragon below. He looked back at her and smiled, a full gummed smile. She gave a small laugh. "So this is where you've been for the last five years, flying dragons." she gasped.

"Well, not completely." Hiccup admitted. She heard a clicking sound and glanced back to see the dragon had a prosthetic tail fin! There was a metal pole that led down the left side, and following it she saw a metal leg where Hiccup's left foot should be.

"Hiccup...your leg..." she started. He glanced down.

"Oh yeah, that happened a few years ago. Turns out, Red Death, not an easy dragon to beat." he said with a laugh. Toothless glanced up at him, as if saying 'you're understating that'. She blinked in confusion.

"What's the Red Death?" she asked. He glanced back at her, as if he was deciding weather or not to tell her.

"It was the Queen of the dragon nest." he said. He didn't say any more, but he didn't have to. She understood. He had went to the dragons nest and took care of the Queen, so that Berk wouldn't have to live in fear any longer. She felt her heart tug. This poor boy had been living alone for five years and felt the need to leave his only home because he was different, yet he still protected that home. After everything that happened, he still found Berk worth his protection. She leaded forward and hugged him.

"I see. You're amazing...he's amazing. You both are amazing." she told him as they soared in the sky.


	7. Other Vikings

**Well, you are all amazing. Thank you so much. I did want to mention that I have most of the story thought out and written already, and I really hope you all like it. Thank you so much The Era Thief, that means a lot to me! Thank you as well for reviewing Lightclaw's Shadow, O.o, Transformers 0** , **neobendium, guest and rodina2000! HappyPup1, thank you so much, your review made me so happy! We'll just have to wait and see! ladipretender, your amazing. Thank you for the help, I'll be sure to work on that more! And I like reading what you call rambling! It doesn't bother anyone at all!XD Welcome aboard Childatheart28, Starlit Chaos, The King's Knight, jellegrunt, tatjana1d, Aboxfullofbeads, Riverat73, and Omega68nova, I really hope you stay for the whole thing! Well, onto the chapter.**

It was dark when Hiccup and Astrid arrived at the cove. She slipped off the dragons back and went over to his head, petting him again. "Your father is going to be so happy you're alive." she said, turning to Hiccup. The young man went slightly pale.

"Yeah, I'm trying to find the right way to tell him. I want them all to see how great dragons really are." Hiccup said and Toothless pulled away from Astrid to go over and nuzzle him. The other dragons made their way over, worried as well. Hiccup looked over at them all and smiled.

"Hiccup, do you know what's going on?" she asked softly. Hiccup sighed, afraid that she would ask that.

"Yeah, I do. The dragon attacks are being led by Drago. He's building a dragon army and when he has it, will use it to take over the world. He started targeting Berk, I think it's because I stopped the raids and took the dragons back to the nest..." he started, but Astrid gave him a confused look.

"I thought you already defeated the nest?" she said. Hiccup nodded.

"I defeated the Queen from the nest on Dragon Island. There is a second nest near here, the nest of the Bewilderbeast. He's the King, the Alpha male of all the dragons. He shelters dragons from Drago and gives them a place to live. We live there, obeying his orders...well, for the most part anyway. We know Drago is looking for it, he wants all the dragons there for himself and his army. I can't let that happen. I need to find him, but I can't do that if Berk is in danger too." Hiccup said firmly. Astrid nodded to show she understood.

"So, what about us? Are you going to tell everyone you're alive?" she asked. Hiccup sighed.

"Yeah, I'm getting around to that. Astrid, you can't tell anyone. I need to do this." he said. She thought for a moment. It was really important that Stoick was told that his son was alive, but she knew Hiccup and Stoick would both be livid if Hiccup didn't tell him himself. She sighed.

"Okay, I won't tell. I should be getting back now." she added, looking at how dark it had gotten. Hiccup nodded.

"Probably for the best." he agreed. Astrid looked at him, then made up her mind. Quickly she punched him on the shoulder, having him let out a surprised yelp. The other dragons were quickly on alert.

"That's for staying away for five years!" she said. Hiccup was about to say something when she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "That's for everything else." she said, then she fled into the forest. Hiccup was stunned. He turned to the others to see all the dragons smirking at him.

"What?" he asked. Toothless started laughing.

xxx

Valka arrived at the nest, allowing Cloudjumper to go play with the other dragons. Drago would know that dragon rider existed soon, and he had been closing in on the nest for a while now. It was only a matter of time before a scout found the nest and Drago would come. With a heavy sigh, she sat down on a nearby rock.

Looking around, she could see plenty of new dragons, from the ones they broke out of Eret's cages and a few of Drago's dragons. She assumed Hiccup went out to stop another raid. Sharpshot flew over and landed on her lap. Valka pet the small dragon. If Sharpshot was here, then Hiccup probably was too. However, when she went to look for him, he was no where to be found. She noticed the other dragons that were usually with her free spirited son were also missing.

It didn't make much sense for one to be here and the others gone. A sudden fear came over her. Did someone capture him? If so, she had to go find him. But with Drago closing in on the nest, she feared that in her absence the nest could fall and no one would be around to help protect it. Looking around the room, she decided to give Hiccup a few days to return. If he wasn't back in that time, she was going to take a tracker dragon and find him.

xxx

Drago listened to the man speak, and when he was finished, he signaled for him to leave. So, there was a dragon rider in the nest. He made the assumption that there was at least two. One destroying his traps, and one preventing his raids.

As soon as the scouts returned with their report, the raids would end. They'll start a few last minute preparations, then they would be heading for the dragon nest. After the nest fell, he would go deal with Berk himself, since they had just became a thorn in his side a well. In the meantime, he'd send out a final raid on Berk, hoping that this time they would destroy the village without him having to.

xxx

Astrid woke up early and started running into the woods, careful to leave her axe behind since the dragons didn't like it. She was almost out of the village, when she bumped into Fishlegs. He wasn't alone either. It looked like him, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were heading into the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Oh hey, Astrid, would you like to join us?" Fishlegs offered. Astrid shook her head.

"Can't, sorry. I'm busy today." she said, hoping she could quietly sneak by them. Snotlout looked her over though.

"Wait, your going somewhere without your axe?" he asked, confused. The others seemed interested now. After all, she never went anywhere without being armed, as did most Vikings. Even Hiccup carried a dagger with him when he went out.

"Oh yeah, I sent it to Gobber to get sharpened for the day, you know...anyway, I gotta go." she said, going around them. They watched her go, heading to the woods.

"Where do you think she's going?" Tuffnut asked.

"Let's follow." Snotlout suggested. Ruffnut and Tuffnut nodded. Fishlegs didn't look like he wanted to, but reluctantly nodded to show he'd go.

xxx

Hookfang, Stormfly, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch returned from gathering breakfast, Hookfang and Stormfly having brought back plenty of fish for Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup was planning his next move. If Astrid was willing, she could help him go to Gobber, and hopefully Gobber would help him go to his father.

If he could show him that dragons were kind and peaceful, then maybe Berk would stop fighting them. They could train dragons, and this would give them help for in the future. He just hoped that they'd listen to them. "Hiccup!" he heard and turned to see Astrid had arrived.

"Good morning milady, but what are you doing out here?" he asked. She smiled.

"You didn't think I'd make you do all this by yourself did you? After everything you've done for Berk, it's only fair I help you." she said with a cocky grin. Hiccup's face lit up. She was really offering to help! He was touched.

"Th...thank you Astrid..." he said.

Suddenly there was screaming. Hiccup turned to the direction and without even waiting for orders, all the dragons but Toothless took off in the direction of the yelling, Toothless wrapping a tail protectively around Hiccup and Astrid and crouched, ready to attack.

A few seconds later the dragons returned, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut hanging by their clothes in their mouths. They opened their mouths and deposited the Vikings on the ground in front of Hiccup.

"What are you doing here?!" Astrid yelled in surprise.

"Us?! What are you doing? With dragons...and is that the Dragon Rider?" yelled Snotlout, offended. Hiccup sighed, this wasn't going well as he had hoped.

"Alright, everyone just calm down..." Hiccup started, but Fishlegs gasped.

"It's you isn't it Hiccup! I knew it!" he started to yell in surprise.

"Ah...what?" Hiccup asked in confusion. The other teens gave him confused looks too.

"No, Hiccup is dead!" Snotlout said in an annoyed voice. Fishlegs shook his head.

"No, it's really Hiccup! I thought it all fit together! I mean, the dragon scale Astrid found in the cove was a Night Fury scale, and you disappeared at the same time as the Night Fury, so if the Night Fury came back with a rider, it only makes sense for it to have you with it right?" Fishlegs babbled. Hiccup hadn't expected this at all. They knew he was the dragon rider? This may be even worse than he thought, but Astrid said they all thought he was dead.

"Fishlegs, who all did you tell?" he asked. Fishlegs looked surprised.

"Oh, no one! I didn't want to get everyone excited until I knew for sure, but now I can go tell the Chief and..." he started.

"NO!" Hiccup, Astrid, and even Toothless roared. Fishlegs and the others looked stunned. "Fishlegs, I have to be the one to tell him...I just don't know how to yet." he admitted.

"Great, so does this mean I can't kill the Night Fury and the rider?" Snotlout pouted. Hiccup winced.

"Yes, please no killing." he said. Astrid smiled. The others surveyed the dragons.

"How did you get them to obey you?" Fishlegs asked. Hiccup gave them a confused look back.

"Obey me? They don't obey me at all!" Hiccup said. It was true, they hardly ever did what he told them. They were dragons after all.

"If they don't obey you, then why do they protect you?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yeah, don't dragons just want to kill people?" Ruffnut asked. Hiccup sighed, this was going to be hard.

"No, they're peaceful and kind creatures, and they are my friends. Here, I'll show you..." Hiccup said, turning to Astrid. She nodded, willing to do what he would ask. He gestured to Stormfly, and the dragon approached, curious as to what Hiccup was doing as well.

Astrid slowly approached the Nadder, putting out a hand as she did. She paused when she was close, and Stormfly looked at her, evaluating the young woman. Deciding she was trustworthy, Stormfly moved forward and let the woman pet her. The Vikings were speechless.

"Whoa! Let me try, let me try!" Tuffnut yelled in excitement, running to Hiccup. Hiccup blinked in surprise. He was relatively easy to convince. He let Tuff to the Zippleback, but the dragon pulled back a bit.

"Uhm Ruff, you wouldn't want to try too would you?" Hiccup called. She looked at them all in surprise, then sighed.

"Well, if it goes to eat us, I can at least let it eat Tuffnut to get away." she decided, walking forward to stand by her twin. Hiccup prayed to Loki, thanking him for letting the twins be similar to him.

"Now hold out your hands carefully, and let him approach you." Hiccup said. The dragon looked at the twins as they did as they were told. "It's okay guys, they're friends." Hiccup encouraged. The dragon carefully approached them, then Barf let Ruffnut pet him and Belch let Tuffnut pet him. Hiccup let out a breath he had been holding. He looked at Toothless, who smiled in response.

"Hey, if the twins can do it, I want to too!" Snotlout said, stepping forward. Hiccup nodded.

He led Hookfang toward the teen, then reached out for Snotlout. The male seemed to have second thoughts however and went to pull back. Astrid glared at him as she pet Stormfly, and with a squeak of fear, he let Hiccup lead him to the dragon. Hookfang smiled, and Snotlout did as well. "This is so cool!" he said. Hiccup tried not to laugh. He looked over at Fishlegs, who stood fidgeting with his hands.

"Do you want to meet Meatlug? She's really nice." Hiccup encouraged. Fishlegs gave him a confused look.

"Uhm, I'm not really..." he started.

"Oh come on guppylegs." yelled Ruffnut as she pet Barf.

Fishlegs looked at all the other vikings, each petting a dragon. It was an amazing sight. Because of Hiccup and Astrid, all the children of their generation were now sitting with their greatest enemy, acting like friends. Knowing he'd go down with them anyway, he gave a nod.

Hiccup signaled Meatlug over and she approached the large boy, curious. Fishlegs put out a hand, shaking hard. Meatlug didn't touch his hand, but rather rubbed up against him. Fishlegs stood frozen for a minute, then smiled at the dragon. She was so cute. He couldn't help but hug her.

Hiccup smiled at the teens, then felling a bump looked at Toothless who was smiling as if saying 'Good job, I always knew you were right.'

Hiccup felt a swell of pride. He had been right all along. From the scene that played out before his eyes, he knew Vikings and dragons could live together in harmony. He just had to show all of Berk that! He gently hugged Toothless. They could do this. And if Berk could change, it was possible that Drago could change too!


	8. Dad

**I lied before, this is the hardest chapter to write! Even having been in a similar situation myself in the past I had a hard time with it. Thank you all for the continued support, and it's very nice to meet you Rider's Light, tillthecowscomehome, trismi, Razorwind237, NoisulIvone, River Patronus, CarcinoDeity, CupcakeFlake, Domcik, Firebird08x, zabani-chan, Locathah, and TheChanceyColborn. Thank you for the reviews neobendium, I always love hearing from you! Thank you for the ecstatic review HappyPup1, and thank you as well httydgirl, Transformers 0 i'm just saying, and other guests! As always, thank you so much for your continued suport ladipretender, it means a lot to me! Thank you guests and Sonochu, I apologize, I didn't catch that. Thank you! Astrid doesn't know who Drago is, only that Hiccup is worried about his strength. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story! This is the chapter most have been wanting, and I've been terrified of it. Oh, and for Eret fan's, he'll be back in tomorrows chapter, I promise!**

The scout nervously approached Drago's location. He had done it! He had discovered the location of the dragon's nest. Drago would be very pleased and they would finally be able to head out. It would take no problem at all to find and defeat the great Alpha, then all the dragons left would be under his control. The slightly harder part was the dragon riders he had spotted there. There were two, one on the Night Fury and one on a Stormcutter. It wasn't anything Drago couldn't handle though.

xxx

Astrid smiled as she watched what had seemed impossible just hours ago as a fact in front of her eyes. "Hiccup, we can show Berk together, we can show them that dragons aren't dangerous." she said. Hiccup nodded softly.

"Yeah, but just not yet. I need to see Gobber and my Dad first." he said. She nodded.

"Oh yeah, we can go right now! The Chief would be so happy to see that your alive and..." Fishlegs started, but trailed off when Hiccup gave him a sad look.

"Fishlegs, it's not that easy." Hiccup said. He looked at the ground. He remembered when he first saw his mother. At first it was disbelief, when she claimed to be his mother, his whole body went numb. He couldn't' believe it, but when he realized it had to be true, next came the volley of questions. However, he knew that just as hard to believe as it was for him, it was just as hard for her. Then she was afraid.

Afraid that he would reject her in anger for leaving, afraid that he wouldn't want to have anything to do with her any longer. He decided to accept her, to have a second chance at the relationship that they never had. It wasn't an easy decision, but in his mind, there was nothing else he could have done. Of course he could have been angry, he could have rejected her.

Probably the worst thing he could have done was accept her again, but only at an arms length, as if he didn't trust her to run away again. Yet he loved her and he wanted a relationship with her. He wanted his mother so much, just like he wants his father now. Yet he was afraid as his mother was on what his father would do.

"I've been gone for five years, I have no idea what that has done to him. I'm scared." he admitted. Suddenly his hand was enclosed in another.

Astrid felt a sudden urge to protect him from the most dangerous thing to the boy, himself. She reached out and took his hand, forcing him to look up at her.

"You don't have to do this alone Hiccup. We'll be with you, all of us." she said, stooping down so she had to look up at him, then pulling his head up so he was eye level with her. Hiccup squeezed her hand back, and Toothless put his head under Hiccup's arm. With all of them beside him, he knew he could face his father. Whatever happened would happen he supposed. He would just have to hope for the best. After all, the longer he delayed it, the harder it would be for them both. He nodded.

"You're right, Astrid." he agreed. She smiled. Suddenly loud horns rang out. The teens looked in the direction of Berk in surprise.

"Dragon attack? During the day?" Astrid asked. Hiccup clenched a fist.

"Drago must really be angry. This one won't be a raid, last time he was trying to destroy the village, this one will be the same." he said, pulling on his helmet and jumping onto Toothless' back. "You guys wait here, come on bud." he said, and Toothless was about to jump into the air when Astrid grabbed his arm.

"Hiccup, it's daylight, they'll see you!" Astrid protested. Hiccup shrugged.

"They've already seen me." he said, then he shook off her hand and Toothless jumped into the sky, heading to the village. Astrid turned to the others.

"We have to go help him!" she said. Tuffnut shrugged.

"Yeah, see, I'd love to but you know, the village is a long walk from here and..." he started, but Astrid felt Stormfly nudge her, and turned to smile at the dragon.

"Oh no Astrid, did you forget, the village still thinks dragons are the enemies!" Fishlegs yelled in protest, but the shieldmaiden was already on the Nadder's back.

"Come on girl, let's go help Hiccup!" she said. The Nadder squawked in agreement.

"This is crazy...let's do it!" Tuffnut and Ruffnut yelled, hitting their heads together before leaping onto the Zippleback. Snotlout looked at Hookfang, then nodded.

"If Astrid is going, I guess I'll go too!" he agreed, climbing onto the dragon. Fishlegs huffed in defeat.

"I guess we should go too huh girl?" he asked Meatlug, wondering just how much trouble they were going to get into.

xxx

Stoick was mildly annoyed. He had more important things to do today instead of going through the village searching for young adults whose parents had no idea where they were. Deciding Gobber would be a good starting point, he went to the smith shop to see what his old friend was doing.

Gobber was working on another strange contraption, probably another of Hiccups designs. Stoick gave a small smile in appreciation for his son's work. "Gobber, have you seen Astrid or any of the others?" he asked. Gobber looked up.

"Can't say that I have Stoick. Astrid is probably still burning off steam from losing the dragon rider." Gobber said. Stoick nodded. He sat down to watch Gobber work, something he hadn't done in many years.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, until they heard a horn signalling a dragon attack. Both men looked at each other before running outside. Sure enough, there was a massive number of dragons headed to Berk.

Stoick began yelling out orders. In all the years that he had lived on Berk though, he could hardly remember a time when the dragons attacked during the day. The first wave struck, but this time they didn't seem to be trying to steal anything. Rather they were attacking structures on purpose.

"Get those fires out!" Stoick yelled. Then a high whistle sounded.

"Night Fury!" someone yelled. Stoick looked up to see the black dragon shoot across the sky from the other direction as the attacking dragons, the dragon rider on it's back. It blasted three attacks, forcing dragons back. Stoick and Gobber stood stunned.

"The dragon rider has been helping us?" Gobber asked in surprise. The Night Fury moved to block a few more dragons, trying to chase them away. However it was only one dragon against an entire army! The Night Fury blasted a series of attacks, but all that the oncoming dragons did was avoid them. The rider and his dragon then quickly circled back around, speeding at the group. A few dragons scattered, but most looked determine to get to the village.

"Oh come on!" they could just hear the rider yelling in frustration.

A large number made it past him and the first dragon landed on the ground. It reared up in front of a small group of Vikings, when a blast of fire hit the ground directly in front of it. The dragon took to the air in surprise, and four dragons with five riders came out from over the trees, the same direction that the first rider came from. However, these riders were not masked or armored, meaning they were easily recognized.

"What in the name of Thor..."Stoick started. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut where all cheering from their spots on the dragon's backs. None of the Vikings knew what to say as they soared to the first dragon rider.

"Is that Astrid and the others?" Gobber asked, just as stunned. They were riding dragons! Dragons! It was a shock enough that a dragon rider even existed, but these were Vikings, from their own village!

xxx

"Uh...what are you guys doing here?" Hiccup yelled in worry. He didn't think the village would take this very well, and now they were all probably in trouble.

"We're here to help you!" Astrid said firmly.

"I don't need any help!" he yelled, but he knew he did. This was way over his head.

"Too bad, so sad. We're here already!" Snotlout said.

"Yeah Hiccup, everyone can already see us, so we might as well help." said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, let's burn down the houses." Tuffnut said.

"I'm with ya!" Ruffnut agreed, and they high-fived each other.

"No! No, we're trying to save the village, not burn it down ourselves!" Hiccup yelled. He didn't want to put them in danger, but they already had a point. He growled and clenched his fists in frustration. "Fine. Tuff, Ruff, try and keep the dragons from landing in the village. Snotlout, Fishlegs, keep them from going to Berk, when they're in the air, try to force them that way," Hiccup yelled, pointing in the direction of dragon island. "Astrid, you're with me. We're going to try and force them in the same direction. They'll get the ones we can't!" Hiccup ordered.

"On it!" agreed the Vikings, quickly following his orders. They scattered around to combat the dragons, driving them from the island. As they did, Hiccup and Toothless swooped down to grab some barrels of water and dump them on burning buildings to put out the fires.

"Good job, bud." Hiccup whispered, petting the dragons head.

The two wheeled around to help Astrid force another wave of dragons back. The twins were cheering in the back, and Hiccup was sure they either got a few dragons to leave the ground, or they burnt down a house. Either one was possible for them. Snotlout was yelling his usual chant in the back: 'Snotlout Snotlout Oi Oi Oi!' and Hiccup was just hoping that they would get through the whole ordeal in one piece. Finally, the last of the dragons were gone, headed to dragon island. Hiccup took a heavy breath.

xxx

The twins were the first to land on the ground, in the circle of the shocked Vikings. "Hey look at us, we're on dragons!" Tuffnut said excitedly. Fishlegs and Snotlout were next, landing beside them. The Vikings were too stunned to even react. Then Astrid came down with the rider, his helmet still on as he got off the Night Fury. Stoick didn't knows what to say or do. This young rider saved their village, but he was allied with the dragons, their enemies. On top of that, he put their young Vikings on the backs of dragons!

"This is an outrage!" he hissed, not knowing what else to say. The rider took a tentative step forward, and Stoick saw he had a metal leg.

"I...I know this looks bad, but I promise you it's not as bad as it seems!" he said, hands up in defense. Stoick was livid.

"Not that bad!? The village was nearly destroyed, and you...how did you even get on those dragons in the first place!" Stoick yelled at the others.

"I know, I know it's hard to take in, but don't be mad at them...be mad at me, yell at me, but please leave them out of it!" the rider said again. Stoick was not only stunned by the man's response, but he didn't understand it. The man was protecting the others and willing to take the entirety of the Chief's wrath.

"Who even are you?" Stoick hissed. Hiccup reached up for his helmet. Slowly he pulled it off, revealing his face. Stoick and Gobber blinked in surprise. "It's not possible!" Stoick yelled, starting to pace. Gobber stood frozen.

"I...it's me Dad, Hiccup. I'm sorry I ran away and..." he started, but Stoick wheeled around to face him.

"Ran away?! My son would not run away, he was killed by a dragon!" he yelled. Hiccup shifted his weight uneasily. This was going just as he feared. His father was angry and he didn't know if he could do it. For a second, he was half tempted to run over to Toothless and fly away, to go back and tell his mom that she was right.

Then Toothless came up beside him, resting against his side as if to support him, and Astrid took his other hand in hers. He wasn't alone, and he was tired of running. He didn't want any more regrets, any more 'what if's'. He would lay everything out to his dad and hope for the best. If nothing else, he tried.

"Dad...I'm sorry. I was afraid. I was afraid of what would happen when you saw Toothless. I was afraid that you and the others wouldn't understand, that you would kill him. But Toothless, he's my best friend. For the last five years he's saved me more times than I can count! He's always been there for me! I know you all think dragons are cruel and dangerous, but the truth is they are kind and peaceful..." Hiccup tried.

"Peaceful?! They just attacked us!" Stoick yelled. Hiccup nodded.

"I know, because they are being controlled by Drago." Hiccup said. Stoick felt a coldness douse his anger. So Drago really was controlling the attacking dragons. "Dad, you gotta believe me! The raids that happened for the last three hundred years was because of the dragon nest queen! She made them raid everyone's villages to give her food; I know because I _saw_ her! And I was the one to defeat her! For the last five years I have lived among dragons. I know what they're capable of!" Hiccup said as passionately as he could.

"And why should we?" Stoick asked. Hiccup threw out his free hand to gesture at their group before resting it on Toothless.

"Because this is the proof here! These dragons, they helped save the village! They aren't attacking anyone, and we're right here with them!" Hiccup said. Stoick looked at the boy. He knew this was his son, it couldn't be anyone else in the world. He looked so much like Valka, it nearly broke the man's heart.

He didn't know what to do or say, then he noticed something that he missed before. Hiccup was crying! Tears began falling down the boy's face, and he was shaking. Stoick took a step forward, not knowing what he was going to do yet. The boy didn't budge. Gobber also took a small step forward.

"It really is you, isn't it?" he asked. Hiccup nodded.

"I'm sorry, for everything that happened Dad, but I don't regret making friends with Toothless. One day you'll see what they are like!" Hiccup said. He took another ragged breath. "I love you Dad, and I love Berk, but I won't choose between you and Toothless. I can't do that. For now I have my own things to take care of, and after, if you'll accept me, I will come back, and maybe we can get past this." Hiccup said.

He looked at the others. He hadn't been wrong. People could change, that was what Astrid and the other young vikings showed him. Vikings and dragons can live together, he was sure of it. For now though, Berk would be safe. The dragons wouldn't let any harm come to it or they're new friends.

"Hiccup..." Stoick started, but the boy pulled his hand from Astrid, startling her.

"I'll be back...probably." he said, remembering what his father told him when he went to find the dragons nest. Now, he was out to find the man causing a war. He had finally said his peace, and ensured that Berk would be able to one day make peace with the dragons. He had fixed what he wished he had done in the beginning. At the same time he didn't regret it, since he had his mother too! Hiccup then climbed onto Toothless' back. "Come on bud." he said. The other dragons made to follow him, but Hiccup held out a hand as they rose, and the dragons stopped.

"Hiccup, wait!" Stoick yelled, having so much that he wanted to say too, but Hiccup took to the sky, flying away on the back of his dragon. Stoick clenched a fist tightly. His son was alive, and now he was gone again.

"Where's he going?" one of the villagers asked.

"I...I think he's going to go after Drago!" Astrid said with a shock. Stoick looked down at her.

"What?" he asked.

"I think he's going to go try to talk to Drago, to talk him out of a war." she said. Stoick went pale, then he turned to Gobber.

"Gobber, I'm leaving you in charge." he said. The Viking looked surprised.

"What?" he asked.

"A man like Drago cannot be reasoned with. If he's going to find that man, he'll be killed! I lost him once Gobber, I can't loose him again." Stoick said.

"But you can't catch a dragon on a boat!" argued one of the vikings. Stoick looked at the sky again, seeing only a small dot left of his son and his dragon. Stoick clenched a fist. There was only one way to catch up to him, and that would be with another dragon. But could he do it? Could he look past the three hundred year war, look past the hundreds of Vikings that the dragons killed including his wife?

Could he do all that to protect his only child who up until seconds ago he thought was dead? He looked at the dragons with the younger Vikings. They seemed like they were harmless, a far cry from what he had always seen in the past. If he didn't look past his misunderstanding and hate, then he would loose the boy forever. Stoick looked at Astrid.

"Can you take me on the back of your dragon?" he asked. The Vikings all looked at the chief in surprise. He was really willing to do it!

"I'll pack my undies then." Gobber said. Stoick turned to him.

"What are you saying Gobber!?" he asked; after all, he just left the village in his care.

"You don't think I'm gonna let you two go all by yourselves did you?" Gobber asked.

"Uhm hello, other part of the team here!" Snotlout yelled, gesturing to the twins and Fishlegs.

"Like I said, you'll need help!" Gobber said, as if Snotlout's statement made his case for him. Stoick sighed, he knew he couldn't dissuade the man. Astrid smiled, wondering just what Hiccup would think of this. His father, willing to get over his fear and hatred, just to follow him and say what he had to say himself.

"Spitelout, you're in charge until we return." Stoick said. The man nodded, then looking around he could see the Vikings in awe, on the fence of making a final decision about the dragons for the rest of their lives. They have been attacked by dragons, and now the dragons have protected them. Their Chief was about to make a decision that would affect the village for the rest of it's existence.

"Stoick, you do realize, that by going after that boy now, you will have to accept not only him, but the dragons as well. They are a part of him, and he said he will not choose between them." the man said. Stoick didn't speak, he moved forward instead to approach Astrid's dragon. Spitelout smiled, Stoick had never changed in his life. When he set his mind to something, nothing could change it. "Then I guess there's only one thing left to say. Good luck, and may you bring that boy of yours back safely." he said. The vikings cheered in approval.


	9. Traveling

**So, I forgot to say how the vikings know the dragons names. I'm just going to say Hiccup told Astrid at some point, and Astrid told the others. Sorry about that little mishap. I honestly didn't notice that I forgot it until now! Oops! No Hiccup this time, this focus's on the vikings. Hiccup is next time! Yeah, I kinda figured everyone would have mixed opinions about the last chapter, but I was so afraid to write that one, and I did take that from a real experience so...anyway, thank you for reviewing Lightclaw's Shadow, SkySorrow, The Era Thief, Ken106348, guests, Transformers 0, ladipretender and neobendium! I always like seeing you there! Welcome aboard MSkitty543921, Ken106348, RedHal, Kingdom of Zetalnarury-88, Shigeki-Hizashi, cbrown0925, Brownies and Griffins, Schoollie, NarutoReaperofsouls, fuzzyhoudini, and RichardtheHockeyPlayer, I hope you continue to stay with us for the rest! XD**

"What are we doing here?" Stoick asked, very annoyed as Astrid and the other dragons touched down on Dragon Island. Astrid figured there was a reason Hiccup had pointed in this direction, and Stormfly seemed to know exactly where to go. She saw all the dragons that they ran off Berk, now calm, interacting with the dragons from the island. Astrid smiled as an idea came to her, and jumped off her dragons back.

"If we're going after Hiccup, you're going to need a dragon of your own!" she said, looking at her bag. She brought Hiccup's helmet, since he hadn't taken it with him. It would be a good way to track him down. Stoick shook his head.

"Oh no, not a chance Astrid." he said. She looked up at him, not even flinching a bit from his voice raising. She was wondering if Hiccup was rubbing off on her, or maybe the new presence of a protective dragon was giving her confidence. While getting Stoick and Gobber dragons of their own wasn't essential to finding Hiccup, it would give the two older vikings a chance to learn more about them, and just maybe they could accept the dragons without Hiccup's ultimatum. Standing her ground, she rubbed Stormfly's side.

"Chief, it's the best chance we got!" she said. Stoick glared at her, then sighed in defeat. Astrid smiled and looked to the others. Gobber climbed off Hookfang's back, and walked over to stand next to his friend.

"So, how do you plan on getting dragons?" he asked. Astrid thought back to Hiccup. The connection between him and Toothless was their complete trust in each other, and when he helped each of them bond with a dragon, it was that trust of theirs to reach out to a dragon, and the dragons willingness to trust them back that allowed them to connect, both physically and emotionally.

"You have to trust them." Astrid said firmly, and quickly she looked around at the dragons. There was so many species, and she didn't know which one would suit the men the best. However, a large Rumblehorn caught her eye first. It was stern and serious looking, something to fit a Chief well. It was looking over some smaller dragons, trying to keep them from hurting each other. Deciding it was a good pick, she slowly approached. The other young vikings crowed around to see what would happen. Astrid approached carefully and slowly. The Rumblehorn saw her, and turned to face her. For a second she thought he was going to attack, but he seemed more curious as to what she was doing than anything else. She got close, reaching out a hand. The dragon started at her for a minute, debating, then leaned forward. Astrid smiled as she led the dragon back to them, then gestured for the Chief to try.

Stoick watched in equal fascination. He had no idea dragons were that calm and peaceful...exactly what Hiccup had been trying to tell them all along. He took a step forward, looking the dragon in the face. "Listen dragon, my son is out there. I need your help to get him back. If you help me, I promise that this island and all the dragons on it will not be threatened by my island ever again." Stoick said. The dragon looked him over, then came forward and nudged him, showing he agreed. Stoick's face softened a bit as he pet the dragons head. "Good boy Skullcrusher." he said.

"Skullcrusher?!" Gobber asked. Stoick smirked.

"He's got to have a name doesn't he?" he asked.

"Yeah, so much cooler than Belch!" Tuffnut said, covering the dragons ears. Barf hissed at him, not amused, and Ruffnut pet him to calm him down.

"Don't worry Barf, he's just an idiot." she soothed. Snotlout rolled his eyes. Astrid looked around again, trying to find a dragon appropriate for Gobber.

"Ohh, how about this one?!" Fishlegs asked, carefully approaching a sleeping hotburple. Astrid nearly smirked but nodded just the same. Fishlegs carefully went up to the snoring dragon, putting out a hand. "Hey boy!" he said, as to not startle the dragon. The dragons woke up and lifted its head in curiosity. Fishlegs smiled at the dragon, and the dragon stood up, walking away from the teen. Fishlegs' face fell at the failure, but the dragon walked over to Gobber looking him up and down. Gobber tapped the dragon's side.

"I like this one! I'm going to call you Grump!" he decided. The others let out sighs of relief. Astrid then turned to Stormfly, pulling out Hiccup's helmet.

"Alright girl, take us to Hiccup." she said.

xxx

Eret was beyond frustrated. He hadn't seen a single dragon since the dragon rider made off with all his dragons, and he was getting closer and closer to Drago. He was only a day off by boat now, and if they didn't have a ton of dragons soon, they would all be looking for new heads as well. He checked the sky again when he noticed a few dragons approaching. Running quickly to the net launcher, he waited until the dragons were getting close. Then he began shooting. The dragons easily evaded the nets, and he saw the dragons were not alone! There were riders on these dragons! At first there was only one, now there were more! Yelling orders to his men, they began shooting more nets. One caught around a Nadder, and the dragon plummeted to the deck of his ship. The other dragons quickly followed, and Eret stood in surprise as the six dragons all stood together, seven vikings on their backs. The Monstrous Nightmare burned the net off the Nadder, and the dragons were all free. Eret wasn't very impressed by their dragons, he had seen them so many times. What he did want was answers about the dragon riders. "So, thought you'd check out the job your friend did?" he asked. They all looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" Astrid asked.

"You mean your dragon riding buddy that stole all the dragons we were taking to Drago?" Eret asked, annoyed with them. Stoick glared, so this man worked for Drago, and Hiccup had freed his dragons that he trapped.

"You mean Hiccup right?" asked Tuffnut, not impressed. His sister on the other hand, was very impressed by the male. She had never believed in the phrase 'love at first sight', until now anyway.

"You tell me, unless you know other dragon riders!" he said.

"Where did he go?" Stoick growled, reaching forward to grab the man's shirt. Eret shrugged.

"Probably back to your dragon nest." he said. Stoick was confused along with Gobber and the others, but Astrid's eyes lit up with understanding.

"The dragon nest of the Alpha!" she realized, the place that Hiccup mentioned that he has been living in. Eret nodded.

"And you can no longer hide there! Drago knows where it is, and he's headed there to destroy it all!" Eret said proudly. Stoick shoved him away.

"Come on Gobber. We're going to get Hiccup out of there. You all go back to Berk!" he ordered, taking the helmet from Astrid.

"Wait, Chief, you're going to need all of our help!" Astrid said in protest, but Stoick shook his head.

"No, if Drago is headed to Hiccup, I'll not risk your lives as well. I'll go bring him back." he said. Eret meanwhile was being really tied of being ignored on his own ship.

"Excuse me, but your not going anywhere. Those dragons are going straight to Drago!" he said with a flourish. Gobber looked at him, annoyed.

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on leaving." Ruffnut said with a smile, making Tuffnut pretend to vomit onto the deck.

"Who even are you?" he asked, not amused. The man looked slightly surprised by the question, then he grinned, as if he loved to introduce himself.

"Oh, my manners. I am Eret, son of Eret, and the finished dragon trapper there is!" he said proudly, the men on his ship nodding as if saying that the statement was true. Gobber rolled his eyes, hit the man on the head so that he fell over, and Grump laid on him, pinning the man to the deck.

"Anybody else?" Gobber asked as they all took a few steps back. "That's what I figured!" he said, turning and petting the dragon, getting fonder and fonder of this beast by the second.

"I'm the Chief, do as I say." Stoick told the girl. She huffed, and deciding that she would obey, he climbed onto Skullcrusher and with Gobber and Grump, went to find Hiccup, Skullcrusher using Hiccup's helmet to lead them. Astrid looked at the others. Snotlout was inspecting his fingernails, Fishlegs was looking at Ruffnut, who was on the ground next to Eret, checking out his muscles, and Tuffnut was gagging again. She sighed. "Alright, Eret, you're going to lead us to Drago." she said. The others all looked surprised.

"Astrid, the Chief just said to return to Berk!" Fishlegs said. Astrid shook her head.

"Hiccup is going for Drago, so we're going to help him. For all we know, Drago already has him. So your going to show us the way." Astrid said. Eret looked up in shock.

"Lead enemies to Drago? Just kill me now!" he said. Astrid smiled, looking up at Stormfly. The dragon whipped her tail, sending spins all around Eret.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it!" he yelled. She smiled as she pet the dragon. That was easy.

"Can he ride with me?!" Ruffnut asked, excited. If they were going with Eret, she didn't care where they went. Eret gave Astrid a pleading look. He had determined that the two women of this group were crazy. One was crazy, and the other was insane!

xxx

Stoick let Skullcrusher smell the helmet, then the dragon headed out. If he had to guess, Drago was in the direction that his men were traveling, but Skullcrusher was going in a different direction. It appeared he had another destination in mind. Hiccup thankfully wasn't going straight to Drago, so that meant he was probably going to that dragon nest that Astrid mentioned. The nest of the Alpha dragon. Stoick didn't know what that meant. Hiccup did say that he defeated the nest that Stoick had spent years trying to find, and he had a sinking suspicion that the messing foot of his was a souvenir from that adventure. That boy was something else. He lost his family, lost a limb, all to dragons; yet he still trusted them, believed in them. He had changed a whole group of peoples minds! He even got him and Gobber to now be riding dragons! The dragons in turn seemed to like and respect the boy.

Gobber watched his friend, then looked down at Grump. He was sure he'd never get used to the sight of vikings on the back of dragons, but Hiccup had always been one for crazy and impossible goals. He wanted to be the first to kill a Night Fury, instead he was the first to tame one! Not only Night Fury's, but other dragons too. He began to worry about what would happen when they next see the boy. What would Stoick say or do? He decided to wait until the time comes. There was another question to ask to. What would he say or do? He understood why Hiccup left, why he stayed away, and why he came back; at least he had the gist of it. The one thing that he wanted to know, is why he went to the other young vikings and not him or Stoick first? Maybe he was afraid of what they would say? If that was the case, then he would have to choose his words carefully too. He assumed it was a good thing the flight would take a while.


	10. Dancing and Dreaming

**So, you are all amazing, just thought I'd say it! Welcome to the story Alwaybri, hictooth-com, starr1095, thetimehasturned3,** **CosmicGuard,** **bandlover12 and I'mnotTophIamMelonlord, I hope you like it! Thank you for the review rodina2000, guest, Amy,** **Transformers 0** , **and ladipretender! Yeah, I meant finest. On a good note, I am having a beta go back through and fix the chapters, so I will be updating the fixed chapters as they return. It is very awesome that neobendium is willing to do this!**

Hiccup saw the dragons nest coming into view and leaned down onto Toothless. "What do you think bud? Think she'll be angry?" he asked. Toothless looked up at him, and Hiccup chucked. "I see, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news huh? I can respect that." he said. He wondered if he should tell his mother or not about everyone on Berk knowing about him, or just tell her about the young vikings who made connections with the dragons. He knew she would demand to know where the other dragons were after all, but that was alright, he had a demand of his own. He had to find out where Drago was, and she was his best lead. If she wouldn't tell him, then he would have to ask one of the former raiding dragons if it would be willing to lead him. Finally they swooped into the nest and walked into the massive caverns where the dragons flew happily about, ignoring the situation of the world while they were in their safe sanctuary.

"Hiccup!" she called, and he turned to see her just as she hugged him.

"Hey, Mom..." he gasped as she crushed the air out of him. She pulled back.

"Never stay out that long again!" she scolded, and Hiccup realized just how long he had been away. It was about a day to Berk, and a day back, and he spent about two days in Berk, of course she was worried. He was usually gone no longer than three days at a time.

"I'm sorry." he said, looking down. She sighed.

"When I saw Sharpshot was back without you I was worried...where are the others?" she asked. He gave a nervous laugh, wondering how he would explain this one.

"Ah, yeah, they're at Berk." he said. She gave him a surprised look. "Don't worry, no one will kill them! If someone tried they wouldn't be around long to regret it." he said. He wasn't sure weather he was referring to the dragon fighting back, or the angry blonde viking woman that would kill anyone who tried to touch them. "I couldn't leave Berk unprotected. Drago attacked it three times now, he's not going to stop until it's destroyed and I don't think he's going to send dragons next time. Mom, he's not going to just try to take Berk either, he's going to try for the nest. Where is he?" he asked. She pulled back a step.

"What..." she started.

"I know you know where he is. You've been destroying his traps and freeing his dragons for more than five years." Hiccup said. Valka shook her head.

"There is no way I'm telling you Hiccup. Going after Drago is asking to be killed." she said. Hiccup looked her in the eye.

"And staying here is waiting for him to find us!" he said. Valka shook her head.

"If he finds us, then the fight will be then. We are not going to him." she said firmly. Hiccup was getting frustrated. She was just as stubborn as his dad. He looked at Sharpshot, who took the opportunity to land on his shoulder. He knew she wouldn't budge. "Now let's get something to eat." she said. He just nodded, knowing she wouldn't say another word on the matter. He'd just have to go with his back up plan.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." he said.

xxx

"Are we there yet? We've been flying for a while now!" Snotlout complained. Astrid looked at Eret, but he seemed surprised.

"Drago should be here, unless he already left for the nest!" Eret said. Astrid looked at him in surprise.

"That's just great, and how do we find him now?" she asked in annoyance. Fishlegs looked down, trying to think of something. They couldn't use Stormfly's tracking abilities, since Stoick took Hiccup's helmet. They couldn't even get back to Berk since they didn't know where they were.

"Just ask the dragons. You said they lived with Hiccup in the nest right?" Tuffnut asked. Astrid looked at him in surprise. Every once in a while Tuffnut had a habit of saying something either completely stupid or unintentionally brilliant. She underestimated him a lot.

"Tuffnut, that's brilliant!" Astrid said, looking down at Stormfly. She gently petted the dragons head. "Stormfly, can you take us to the nest?" she asked. The dragon let out a positive chirp and flew off in a new direction. Eret sighed in frustration, being held in the Nadder's grasp.

"Can I at least ride somewhere?" he asked, annoyed at his treatment.

"You can ride with me!" Ruffnut said. Eret grimaced and looked up at Astrid.

"On second thought, I'm fine!" he called.

xxx

Hiccup felt the tension from his mom, and knew she wasn't about to let him leave anytime soon, but he only had a few minutes before she came looking for him for dinner. He wondered over toward the opening of the nest, looking for a dragon that they took from Drago. The problem was, there were so many from Drago's traps and raids, Hiccup couldn't remember the difference. He didn't have to before, so now it didn't matter. He spotted one that he thought may have been from a recent raid when a hand came down on his shoulder. He saw Toothless tense up, and the hand was far to big to be his mom. Hiccup yanked his arm forward and turned around to see his Dad and Gobber, with two dragons behind them. "Wha...what are you doing here?!" he asked, stunned.

"Did you really think you can just show up and then leave without giving me a chance to speak?" Stoick asked. Hiccup looked around, not sure what to make of this.

"Ho...how did you even get here?!" he asked, knowing it wasn't possible for them to sail there in that amount of time.

"How do you think, we rode dragons!" Gobber said, gesturing to the two. Hiccup was stunned. His dad and Gobber rode dragons, to come speak to him! Before he could figure out what to make of it, a figure suddenly attacked both Stoick and Gobber. Hiccup recognized his mom's armor quickly and tried to separate them all. He got knocked aside by his mothers staff.

"Hey, stop!" he tried calling, but none were listening. He looked at Toothless, who made a careful aimed shot between the three of them. All three jumped back from each other, and Valka could finally see who was with her son. "Thank you Toothless." Hiccup said to the dragon before starting to get up. Toothless quickly helped his friend back to his feet. "Alright, Dad, Gobber...I uhm...I forgot to mention I haven't been living with only dragons." Hiccup said. Stoick's eyes narrowed at the masked figure.

"I see that." he said. Hiccup looked to his mom, wondering what she would do now. She took a deep breath before removing her mask as well. Both Stoick and Gobber looked like they were going to pass out, and Hiccup couldn't blame them. Everything that the two men knew had just been torn to shreds. Hiccup took a step back to see what would happen.

Stoick couldn't believe it! His son was alive, and now his wife was standing in front of him, next to _their_ son. Stoick was never one for careful approaches, but this time he knew he'd have to. His wife looked at him, then Gobber.

"I know what you're going to say Stoick! How could I have done this, to stay away for twenty years without coming back to you, to keep Hiccup here with me for the last four years? Well what choice did you leave me? There was no sign that anyone on Berk could change, so I stayed here, where I could protect dragons from people who would do them harm. I owe you an apology for letting you believe I was dead, but I won't apologize for looking after the dragons. I don't think it was wrong, but at the same time..." she trailed off. She had told Hiccup that there were no 'what if's' because she didn't want him to be tortured by them like she had. She knew that feeling, and she always wondered about what would have happened if she had gone back. Stoick meanwhile fumbled with his helmet, removing it as he took a step forward. "Go on then, yell, scream, say something!" she ordered, taking a hesitant step back. Hiccup took an unsure step toward his mother, not knowing what to do or even if he should do something at all. Suddenly Stoick moved faster than Hiccup thought he could, capturing Hiccup in one arm and Valka in another. He pulled them both close, hugging them tight.

"D...dad?" Hiccup gasped. He heard a soft sob come from the viking as he finally had his family in his arms again. Toothless and Gobber both smiled, Gobber wiping tears from his eyes. Valka stood tense for a minute, then relaxed, hugging her husband and her son. Hiccup let out a shaky breath. Stoick finally pulled back, but held onto both of their shoulders. He had no words to say, and that was alright for now. No words needed to be said.

xxx

The four vikings and four dragons sat nervously in the cave that Valka and Hiccup had called home, Hiccup serving dinner. It felt weird, to be eating a meal as a family, since this had never happened before. Gobber smiled as he looked over at the three vikings. They could be a family again one day, he realized. It all was in the balance of how they treated the next few moments. It looked like it would be alright though. Toothless leaped around the two new dragons, as if he was trying to see who they were. "So, you both rode dragons to get here?" Hiccup asked, more excited than anything. Stoick nodded.

"Yes...and you were right Hiccup, they are amazing beasts indeed." Stoick said, looking at Skullcrusher. After all, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't impressed. Hiccup grinned at Valka and she gave him a small smirk, probably an understanding they had between each other that he would most likely never learn. He smiled, they were indeed alive and well. However a hollow feeling crept into his heart. The question was, would they return to Berk? Stoick thought for a second, there was a way to find out. He started whistling a tune.

"Oh, I love this one!" Gobber said with a smile. Hiccup gave them a confused look, and Valka looked stunned. Stoick stood up, walking over to the love of his life.

"I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with never a fear of drowning." he sang as he stood beside her. Hiccup looked between his parents then to Toothless who also seemed to like the tune. "and gladly ride the waves of life, if you would marry me." Hiccup seemed to understand, and a huge smile broke out on his face. "Nor scorching sun nor freezing cold will stop me..." Stoick started.

"On my journey...sorry." Gobber started singing, but stopped at an angry look from Stoick. Hiccup gave him a 'why would you do that?' look and Toothless lightly whacked the guy on the back of his head with his tail. Hiccup looked back at his mother, but she seemed so scared and confused, like she didn't know what to do.

"If you will promise me your heart..." he started again, but then trailed off. Stoick was asking her if she would come back to Berk, if she still loved him! Valka's mind was racing. It was clear that Stoick had changed. In a desperate attempt to talk to the son he lost, he made peace with the dragons and rode one out to find him, he clearly still cared about her as well. He wanted them to come back home, to be a family again, and she knew if she remained silent, the answer was no, but if she joined in their song, the answer was yes. This wasn't just a decision for her either. Hiccup would be affected too. She glanced at her son to see his hopeful face. She knew she still loved this man, but did she have enough faith in him to think he wouldn't go back to hating dragons when this was all over?

Stoick felt his hope diminish at her silence. So, she neither loved him or wanted to return home. In that moment, he felt his heart brake. He hadn't been able to fix it this when he had a chance, and now he'll never have a second one. "And love me for eternity." her voice rang out like a bell, and Stoick looked up in both amazement and shock, before relief. "My dearest one, my darling dear. Your mighty words astound me." she sang, moving to an open space, Stoick followed. Hiccup was smiling so big, she couldn't remember the last time he had smiled so large. "But I've no need for mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me." she continued, then held out her arm. Stoick took the hint and the two began to dance together.

"But I would bring you rings of gold, I'd even sing you poetry." Stoick sang, and her resulting laugh was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. "And I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me." he sang, but it just wasn't a lyric to him. This was his promise to her and their son. She smiled such a beautiful smile, that he felt he could never let it fade again.

"I have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry." she sang, knowing full well that she meant both of those completely. "I only want your hand to hold." she continued, and she meant it. Stoick removed his forearm from against her own to take her hand in his.

"I only want you near me." he swore, and they both agreed.

"To love and kiss to sweetly hold, for the dancing and the dreaming." they sang, and Hiccup sat nearly crying tears of happiness. His parents still loved each other, and they both had changed. Gobber suddenly pulled him to his feet, getting a surprised gasp from the youth as the two danced as well. Hicccup went with it, just happy his parents were there together. "Through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your laugh inside me. I'll swim and sail a savage seas with never a fear of drowning. I'd gladly ride the waves so white if you will marry me!" they sang, both stopping and Hiccup assumed the song was over. Gobber was still holding the last note and Hiccup hit him lightly, a cue to stop.

"eeee, and I'm done." he said. Stoick looked at his wife again, and bent down so that he had to look up at her.

"Val, will you come home with me?" he asked, then he looked at Hiccup and waved him over. Hiccup ran over to see what he wanted, and Stoick wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Will you be my wife once again, and we can be a family!" he said. Valka looked at the two and felt herself laugh a little.

"Yes." she said. Stoick wrapped them both into a hug, with Toothless coming over and joining, as well as Gobber.

"Great, but I'll do the cooking!" Gobber decided. Valka laughed a little, and was about to ask about her coking when a huge crash sounded. They all looked at the mouth of the cave. Something was seriously wrong.

 **I had to put the song in there, because I feel like it was the most important part of their reunion, where she made that decision that she wanted to be a part of Stoick's family again. Just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.**


	11. War

**Well, onto chapter 11, wow! I really want to say what I am planning because so many are asking, but I don't want to spoil it either. Thank you all for the support and for reading this story! So, welcome aboard yesboss21, Beauluffy, Yukomin, yesboss21, and Master Of The Elements12 . Thank you for the reviews HappyPup1, hamadabrosrule, Ken106348, guests, ladipretender, I'mjustsaying,** **and KittenWhiskers.**

Drago stood smiling proudly. The alpha's nest was right in front of him, and he finally had it in his grasp. "Attack, and focus all your energy on the mountain. We must bring out the Alpha!" he yelled. He felt a sense of excitement. He would finally meet these dragon riders and destroy them and the Alpha in one go. The men charged forward and his dragons flew overhead.

xxx

Valka ran out of the cavern to stand on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the attacking forces. In horror she turned around, ready to go attack them. Stoick put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright Val, what do you want us to do?" he asked. She looked up at him in surprise. He really was offering to help!

"We have to save the dragons." she said. He nodded, agreeing with her. They would do everything they could. Stoick then looked over at Hiccup, stretching out an arm for him.

"Let's go son." he said. Hiccup gave him a wide eyed look, then he grinned. His father had called him son! He ran over to Toothless and climbed onto the dragons back.

"Come on bud!" he said, and they shot into the sky. Valka ran off with Cloudjumped, and Stoick and Gobber followed Hiccup on their dragons. The dragons from the nest followed, ready to defend their home. The dragons attacked Drago's in the air, and many of them fell to the ground. Drago's men opened a series of traps that the Nest dragons went to, trying to rescue the dragons inside. Toothless blasted a few of the dragon traps apart with Stoick's help. Grump and Gobber meanwhile flew low, knocking out whole lines of Drago's men with his tail.

Drago stared at the three dragon riders. Two of them didn't really interest him, but the one on the Night Fury had his full attention for the moment being. What kind of man could force a Night Fury to obey him? It made him angry. Only he should be able to control the dragons, yet this man seemed to have hundreds of dragons at his command. It was probably that one who has been stealing all of his dragons too.

Hiccup however surveyed the area. With only three dragon riders and few hundred dragons against thousands of dragons and men, he started to feel like they were on the loosing side. His mom had to hurry up! Suddenly a huge explosion ripped threw one of Drago's ships, and most of the attention diverted to the vessel as it sank below the sea. From the smoke he could see a group of dragon riders emerge. Astrid and Stormfly in the lead, with a man in the dragon's claws. Snotlout and Hookfang were behind her, with Tuffnut and Ruffnut on Belch and Barf respectively, and bringing up the rear was Fishlegs and Meatlug. Hiccup felt a huge grin come across his face.

"Dragon riders coming through!" Tuffnut yelled as Ruff had Barf lay out a huge line of gas across the men's line. Belch let out a spark and the gas exploded, throwing many of the men back into the ground. The two twins cheered. Astrid flew up beside Hiccup.

"Didn't think we'd let you have all the run did you?" she asked.

"Astrid...how..." Hiccup started, but Astrid pet Stormfly as an answer. He grinned down at the dragon.

"Hello! Can somebody put me down now?!" Eret yelled, not amused.

"Uhm...who is he?" Hiccup asked, his attention being diverted to the man. Eret looked up.

"I am Eret, son of Eret, the finest Dragon Trapper there is!" he said proudly. Hiccup looked up at Astrid.

"We were using him to track down Drago." she explained, and he nodded. Eret squirmed again, wishing to be away from all these crazy people. "Hiccup, this man Drago..." Astrid started.

"He's trying to fight with the Alpha of the nest so he can take all the dragons." Hiccup said. Astrid nodded.

"And where is the Alpha?" she asked. Hiccup looked up at the top of the mountain where he could see his mom on Cloudjumper, and the massive white Alpha arise from behind her.

"With Mom." he said with a smile. Astrid and Eret followed his line of sight with an amazed look.

"Your...your Mother!?" Astrid asked. She had heard for years that Hiccup's mother was killed by dragons, however he said that was her. She assumed it wasn't impossible. They thought Hiccup was killed by dragons. Stoick would be so shocked if he didn't know already. Hiccup nodded.

"Dad and Gobber are helping fight for the nest." he said. Astrid nodded.

"Then we should help them." she stated, and the two flew off to help the others.

Valka led the Alpha down to the battle field before taking off on her own, going straight for Drago. She intended on attacking him from the air, but one of his men threw a bola and it tangled around Cloudjumper, forcing him to the ground. She leaped off his back and rolled to Drago, attacking him with her staff as she stood back up. He blocked the attack and returned with one of his own.

"You cannot take the dragons! They belong to the Alpha!" she told him as she made three rapid attacks, her strength diminishing with each one. Drago stepped back smirking.

"Then it's a good thing I brought a challenger." he said, and with a few horrifying roars, a black bewilderbeast rose from the ocean. Valka knew she wouldn't let those two dragons fight. She leaped onto Drago, trying to get him to stop. He pulled her body over his so that she would land on the ground on her back. Then he forced her helmet off. He smirked, stepping on her chest so she couldn't get away. Ready to be rid of this nuscience, he brought down his weapon on her. Before it could connect a body slammed into his, and he looked up from the ground to see Stoick helping her up.

"Th...thank you." she said. Stoick looked at Drago, angry.

"I lost my family once, I'm not loosing them again." he said forcefully at Drago. The black dragon finally reached the Alpha. The two hit their tusks off of each other, a first strike to feel each other out. "Think you can stop them Val?" he asked. She nodded, cutting the ropes that held her friend.

"I'll do my best." she promised as she flew away. Drago was stunned. He knew this man, had seen him before. He was in the group of leaders that Drago had killed.

"You..." Drago hissed as the man approached him with an axe. The two exchanged blades, hitting them off each other, and Stoick's strength made Drago step back. "I watched you burn!" he hissed. Stoick growled.

"It's takes more than a little fire to kill me!" he said, attacking the man again.

Astrid watched the two males fight below before going to free another set of traps. She then landed, allowing Stormfly to release Eret. He gave her an odd look. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"If you stay up there like that you're going to be killed." she said. Eret looked at the dragon. He wondered what he should do. After all, no matter what side he choose he was going to die. He hadn't brought Drago his dragons, which meant if he returned to the tyrant he'd loose his head. If he stayed with this girl and their friends, following this Hiccup man, they would die by Drago's strength. As he stood thinking, a few of Drago's men attacked. Stormfly immediately moved into action, swiping all of them men away with her tail and putting a protective wing over the man. "You need to take cover!" Astrid hissed. Eret looked up at the dragon.

"You...you saved me!" he said. In all his years, he had never had anyone put themselves in harms way for him. He looked at the dragon, then up at her rider. "Despite the fact that you kidnapped you, you also saved my life. I have no future going to work with Drago again. If you don't mind, I want to join you and your boyfriend." Eret decided. It was by no means an easy decision or a choice on a whim, but it was the best chance he had for survival, and the dragon did just save his life so he had a debt to pay. Astrid looked really flustered though.

"You think Hiccup is my boyfriend?" she asked. That was what was bothering her?

"He's not? After all this stuff you do to help him?" he asked, surprised. Astrid thought.

"Well...just get on." she said holding out a hand for him. Eret took it and she brought him up on Stormfly behind her. They took to the air again, ready to help the other teens.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut flew close to them. Ruffnut wondered what Eret thought of her. He was perfect in every way, a true hero of a man. As she was thinking, she got knocked out of the sky. Tuffnut watched in horror as his sister fell. "Eret son of Eret!" she screamed, wanting to be rescued, but before she hit the ground it was Fishlegs and Snotlout that caught her. Looking up at the two men, she smiled. She knew Fishlegs had feelings for her too, and to be honest, she was happy. They brought her back up to her dragon and the teens all looked at Astrid. She knew they were waiting for orders.

"Alright. Ruff, Tuff, destroy everything. Snotlout, chase as many of the men off as you can. Fishlegs, you help the rest of us drive the attacking dragons back." Astrid said. They all nodded.

Valka flew up between the two massive dragons. She had to find a way to stop them. An ideal outcome would be her bewilderbeast kills Dragos and takes all of his dragons, but she would never force him into such a situation. The only option she had was to get the two to stop fighting. She flew up between them and held out a hand, the Alpha stopped. Satisfied, she turned to the other dragon, holding out a hand. The dragon didn't hesitate and attacked. Cloudjumper forced her out of there, leaving the stunned Alpha to try and block the attack. Valka gasped as the challenger forced the Alpha back, then locked horns with him. He smacked the Alpha's head to the side. "STOP!" she screamed, but it was no use.

Hiccup heard his mother's yell and stopped to watch. He noticed most were now only watching the dragons battle it out. The only two that weren't were Drago and his father. They were attacking each other, and Stoick seemed to be gaining the upper hand. He looked back at the two, hoping that the Alpha could make a come back. The challenger forced the Alpha to the ground and impaled him the belly. Hiccup was horrified. They lost! As the Alpha laid dying, the black challenger let out a massive roar, attracting all the dragon's attention.

Stoick heard the yell and turned to see Valka get thrown off by her dragon that just fell under the new Alpha's control. In fear, he ran over to Skullcrusher and into the air. They flew toward her, then Stoick leaped off the dragon to catch his wife. They rammed into the ice wall, Stoick using his axe to stop them from falling to the ground.

Drago turned to the Alpha. "Kill her." he ordered. She was a thorn in his side after all.

"Enough!" came a new voice, and the Night Fury approached. This should be 'interesting' Drago thought.


	12. Confrontation

**Welcome to the story** **Cois99, prydain, JSS42, SincerelyDandy, Sugarpony, and AVC03, it is a pleasure to have you! Also, I want to thank guests, HappyPup1, Transformers 0, ladipretender, and neobendium for reviewing. I'm not trying to be evil, but your probably going to think I'm satin after this. So yeah, some of you are going to kill me for this, I'm really sorry. It was an idea that I decided to go with in the very beginning, then decided to take out, then at the last minute I put it back in. Please don't kill me! In all honesty, this is a painful decision, one that I have not fully made either. I have actually wrote two versions from here on out, so yeah, I'm going to buy myself another day to decide which one to go with.**

Hiccup stood in front of Drago. This was the man he spent years hunting down, the man he had wanted to face to save the others. He was now standing directly in front of him. Drago however was not as impressed as he thought he'd be. This was a boy, no older than twenty. He was a skinny child too, weak in appearance. "Your Drago aren't you?" Hiccup said, trying to start off the conversation. He hoped he could change the man's mind, to end this useless battle. Toothless meanwhile did not trust him and wanted to rush forward, but Hiccup held up a hand to calm him.

"So, you're the all powerful dragon rider." Drago smirked at the boy. Judging from what he saw, he thought it was no stretch to assume that he was that man Stoick's son. After all, he didn't look that old, so the female dragon rider was probably his mother, and Stoick was very intent on protecting her. "The son of a great chief I assume. He must be so ashamed of you." Drago hissed. Hiccup thought about that for a second. After all, his father was once ashamed of him, but he doubted that was the case now. Toothless hissed at the man, not amused by his cheep shot.

"All this destruction, and for what? What do you accomplish with this? Dragon's are kind, peaceful creatures that can bring people together!" Hiccup protested. He knew that was true. If it wasn't for dragons he wouldn't have found his mother, or be reunited with his father. Drago growled low.

"Or tear them apart!" he said, and with a single clip, he removed his left arm, a prosthetic that left Hiccup speechless. "Dragons are not peaceful. I know what it's like to live in fear of dragons, after they killed my family." he hissed, putting his arm back on. He began circling Hiccup, and he assumed it was to unnerve him. Of course it was working. Toothless meanwhile wrapped a tail protectively around the boy and stood next to him. He would not allow Drago to attack his friend. "Even as a boy, I vowed to overcome this fear. I would liberate the world from the threat of the dragons, and I alone would control them all." Drago said. Hiccup was confused.

"Then why a dragon army?" he asked. Drago smirked, arriving in front of Hiccup again.

"You need dragons to conquer other dragons." he said, as if it was the most obvious answer. Hiccup didn't buy it for an second.

"Or you need dragons to conquer people. To control those who will follow you, and destroy those who won't!" Hiccup said. Drago was impressed. This boy had seen through his words and gotten to the root of what Drago was trying to do. Maybe he wasn't useless after all.

"Cleaver boy." he complemented him, but Hiccup didn't pay attention. He had to find a way to change this mans mind. However this man was dead set on hating dragons, and Hiccup began to doubt his own plan.

"Dragons just want peace. We can make peace and live together with them!" Hiccup said as sincerely as he could. Drago shook his head. This kid was starting to irritate him. "Just let me show you..." Hiccup started, but Drago had enough. This kid could not be made to see things how they were, and he was defiantly not going to join Drago. Like the kid had said himself, when people didn't agree with him, he'd just get rid of them.

"No, let me show you the true might of a dragon." he roared, getting the Alpha's attention. How wonderful it would be to see this dreamer of a kid be killed by the very creatures he loved the most.

Stoick and Valka were hiding from the Alpha when they noticed that he was no longer looking at them. They peaked out to see where the dragon was going and they could see Hiccup standing in front of Drago, the Alpha approaching. "Hiccup!" they yelled in fear. They both charged forward to protect their son. As they ran they saw Gobber, coming on foot to assist him after loosing Grump to the Alpha. "Let's go Gobber!" Stoick said. The blacksmith nodded. It didn't matter what it was, he'd follow Stoick to the end. He charged after them, keeping close.

Hiccup looked in fear at the massive Alpha approaching. Toothless wrapped even tighter around him. "I will show you what true power is. The power to force your own will over others!" Drago said with a smile. Toothless looked at Hiccup, worried for his safety, and Hiccup kept a shaky hand on the dragon's head. The Alpha turned his attention to Toothless, and Hiccup felt afraid, not knowing what was going to happen. Toothless tried to resist what the Alpha was trying to do, causing him pain.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried, trying to help his friend. The dragon gasped again, and Hiccup was extremely scared. Toothless whined, then looked up at Hiccup at full attention, and he saw Toothless' pupils were mere slits. Hiccup took a half step back. "Ah, what did he tell you?" he asked, afraid.

"Now you'll see what it's like to be afraid of them." Drago said, and he turned and walked away. Hiccup took a step back as Toothless started moving towards him threateningly. Never in his whole life had Toothless ever been like this toward him. Hiccup kept moving back and Toothless kept advancing.

Stoick watched in fear as his son was being cornered by his dragon. He didn't understand what was going on, but he knew he had to get there before Hiccup was killed. He threw his axe at a nearby beam, knowing that was the only way he could get to the boy in time. However he missed the rope. Deciding he didn't have time to worry about that, he took his chances by running into the battle field, Valka right behind them. Gobber realized they wouldn't make it in time, as Hiccup just hit a wall. Ripping off his arm he threw it, cutting the rope cleanly and ran across the makeshift bridge. He had to protect Hiccup. That boy was like a son to him. Those times working in the forge together were like a godsend to the elderly Viking who never had a family of his own. Hiccup, Stoick, and Valka were his family, and he'd do anything to protect them. Charging forward with a speed most didn't even believed he possessed, he raced to make it to the boy before the dragon could harm him.

Hiccup felt the wall against his back, but couldn't move. "Toothless, it's me bud!" he tried to snap the dragon out of whatever was going on. Toothless opened his mouth, a blast forming in the back of his throat.

"Hiccup!" he heard. He could see his parents approaching from behind the dragon. He looked at them in horror, not wanting anything to happen.

"Hiccup!" he heard from the side, and could see Gobber was coming quickly. Hiccup held up two hands, one to try and stop Toothless and one to try and stop Gobber.

"NO!" he screamed. However Toothless let the bolt shoot out just as Hiccup was body slammed by the older viking. Hiccup sat on the ground, trying to make sense of what just happened. He looked around to see Toothless shaking his head hard, fighting off the hypnotism. He went to look behind him to check on Gobber, but at that moment, his parents reached him, throwing their arms around him, and nearly suffocating him.

"Hiccup, thank goodness." Valka said, brushing his hair behind his ear.

"What were you thinking?! You could have been killed!" Stoick said, anger and fear both apparent in his voice. Valka pulled back to hold his face, as if to see if he had any injuries. Hiccup heard other dragons land behind them and looked over to see Astrid, Eret, Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs had all arrived too. All of them were pale, looking at the ground behind him. Hiccup tore himself from his parents to look behind him too.

"GOBBER!" he gasped, terrified of what he would see.

xxx

Drago smirked as he heard the screams. That runt was most likely dead now. He'd know better than to mess with a powerful man like him. Looking to the Alpha, he pointed his staff to the sky. Now they would go destroy Berk, a second thorn in his side, before going to conquer the archipelago. The Alpha roared and all the dragons gathered. Drago climbed onto one of the Alpha's tusks and they set out, his men pulling back.

"To Berk!" he ordered.

Hookfang, Stormfly, Barf and Belch, and Meatlug felt the Alpha calling them, as did Toothless. They had to go, but at the same time Hiccup needed them. The Alpha used a stronger force, and the four flying dragons caved instantly, flying into the air to join to others. Toothless resisted however, waiting to see what Hiccup would do. The dragon was both horrified and ashamed of himself. He had just tried to kill his best friend, and now that boy was desperately trying to see if his friend and mentor was alive. Toothless let out a low cry. He had to resist the Alpha, for his friend.

Hiccup and Stoick finally dug out Gobber and looked down at him. Hiccup couldn't believe it.


	13. Realizations

Hiccup looked at his father, waiting for confirmation weather he was alive or dead. Stoick gave a heavy sigh of relief. He could still hear his heartbeat. He nodded with a small smile, and Hiccup clung back to Toothless, crying into the dragon's neck. Toothless lowered his head over the boy's shoulder and onto his back out of comfort. That had been too close. Gobber's axe hand was destroyed, that was probably what Toothless hit, and he had a huge bump on the back of his head, probably having hit the wall. The others Vikings grinned, glad they're teacher still had a good few years left. Stoick then turned to Valka and Hiccup. Now that this mess was resolved, he wanted to know why a dragon attacked his son, and his son was now hugging said dragon.

"What happened?" he asked. Valka sighed.

"The Queens of their nest can temporarily control their worker dragons to do what they want, but the King, the Alpha, his control is absolute. If he gives an order to a dragon, the dragon must follow it. Toothless was probably ordered by the Alpha to kill Hiccup. The only reason that Gobber was even able to save Hiccup was because Toothless was fighting as hard as he was. Good dragons under the control of bad men do bad things." she said. Stoick looked to the sky.

"They're headed for Berk aren't they?" he asked. Valka gave a solemn nod to show it was true. Hiccup pulled away from Toothless, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He could see the worry in all the Vikings and his mom's face, then he looked at Toothless. The dragon knew him so well by now, and he knew exactly what Hiccup wanted to do. He nodded to show he wanted to do it too.

"We're going back." Hiccup said. Valka and the others gave him surprised looks.

"What?" Stoick asked in disbelief, wondering what his son was thinking. It wasn't the boys responsibility to protect Berk, it was his as it's Chief. However Hiccup looked determined.

"When I was younger I remember you saying a Chief protects his own. Dad, you've been protecting the people of Berk for you're whole life. Mom, you've been here protecting the dragons for the last twenty years. The dragons and the Vikings are both in danger, we're going back, and we're going to protect them all." Hiccup said, petting Toothless. Stoick and Valka stood amazed at how far their son had come. Eret was impressed as well. This young man was something special indeed. Astrid smiled, so proud, and the other Vikings nodded, ready to follow this young man into battle.

"And just how are you planning on doing that without dragons?" Gobber's rough voice reached them. Stoick looked down at his friend, smiling form how happy he was that he was conscious again. Hiccup smiled.

"Drago didn't take all the dragons." he said. Valka realized what Hiccup was planning and wondered if it was possible. Hiccup looked so determined that it gave her faith in his plan. She nodded to show she was on board. She looked at Stoick who was in awe at their son. Hiccup climbed on Toothless and left to do whatever he was planning.

"That boy has the heart of a Chief and the soul of a dragon." she said as she watched them fly. Stoick nodded. Eret looked at Valka.

"You are absolutely sure that he knows what he's doing. Drago will not miss a second time." he told her. She smiled.

"No, but Hiccup never listens anyway. He loves dragons and humans too much to stop now." she said. Eret hoped she was right. It wasn't just the future of Berk, but all of the archipelago that was depending on what this boy had up his sleeve. Hiccup returned with a bunch of adolescent dragons.

"Uhmm...Hiccup..." Gobber started, looking at them.

"We have to get back to Berk, this is the fasted way." Hiccup said. Astrid looked at the nearest one before petting it's head.

"But when we get close, won't the Alpha just take control of these guys too?" Astrid asked. Hiccup chuckled.

"They're babies. They don't listen to anyone!" Hiccup said proudly.

"Yeah, just like us!" Tuffnut said with a smile. Ruffnut rolled her eyes and punched her brother. Snotlout and Fishlegs nodded in approval at her actions. Hiccup climbed onto Toothless again.

"Well, let's go." he said. Astrid smirked.

"You know this is crazy right?" she asked. He nodded.

"I am aware." he said. She nodded.

"As long as you know." she climbed onto the back of the dragon she pet, and the younger Vikings followed suit. Valka was next, and Gobber and Stoick followed. Eret hesitated for a second longer before doing so as well. He decided that he was going to trust this boy. Hiccup smiled down at Toothless.

"Let's go bud!" he said. The dragons took off into the air, flying threw the ice.

"This is very dangerous!" Gobber yelled as the dragon bumped into some ice.

"Some may suggest that this plan was poorly conceived." Stoick agreed with his friend. Hiccup laughed.

"Then it's a good thing I never listen!" Hiccup said. Stoick felt a huge amount of pride for his son. He had grown up quite amazingly. Gobber yelped as he hit another ice chunk.

"So what is the plan?" Gobber asked, curious. Hiccup was like his father, usually more of a few word plan.

"Find Drago and kick his..." what ever he was going to say next was cut off by a piece of ice temporarily separating Hiccup and Toothless from all the others.

xxx

Drago could see Berk coming into view. It didn't seem all that dangerous. In fact, the more he saw of it, the more he was sure that the problems from Berk were only because of that boy and his dragons. However, he was already there, so he decided he would destroy it anyway. Not only would it be a way to make an example, he knew it would crush the spirits of the survivors when they returned home. The alpha let out a loud roar and vikings came outside to see what was going on. Drago stood proudly on the head of his dragon, looking over the people. He was going to enjoy this. The Alpha roared, spraying ice everywhere.

xxx

Hiccup looked over at the others. They seemed to be doing well flying on the baby dragons. He looked down at Toothless. He knew Drago wasn't going to change, and that meant if he wasn't going to try for peace, then he was a threat. He was attacking Berk, using the dragons. Hiccup felt like all the hard work he had built up to that point was about to be shattered before his very eyes. "We're gonna have to take him down aren't we bud?" he asked. Toothless made a sound of agreement. Hiccup frowned, worried. Drago wasn't going to just let them fly in. He was going to try to take over Toothless again with the Alpha. Hiccup had to think of someway to keep that from happening again. Toothless was his best friend after all, he wasn't going to loose him.

Stoick watched the boys back from behind, wondering if the boy had ever been that broad before. He assumed it was all part of growing up. The boy was becoming a fine leader, one any father would be proud of, or any Chief to have as his replacement. He was getting up there in the years after all, and thought maybe when this all blew over, if they were all still alive, maybe he'd just retire with his wife and catch up on lost years. He smiled at the boy. Valka had hit the nail right on the head when she described him.

Gobber couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Hiccup used to be considered the weakest. He remembered when Hiccup was born. Valka had cried all night, thinking he wouldn't make it. Stoick had faith, saying he would be stronger than all the other kids. When they watched them all grow, he had seen the worry and doubt that filled his friend. Hiccup didn't seem like the strongest at all, he was just struggling to stay alive. Now, seeing the boy, he knew Stoick's prediction had come true, but not in the way his friend had thought. Hiccup was the strongest because he never saw the world through the same hate clouded filter as they had. Instead, he saw a future, he say a world of possibilities.

Snotlout couldn't help but admire that scrawny boy once again, but this time, he knew he was admiring him for who he really was, not who he thought he was. He wondered just what Hiccup was planning, and hoped it was just as crazy yet brilliant as all his other plans. Seeing the way Astrid looked at him, he knew he'd never have a chance with her, her heart clearly belonged to him. He'd move on, but at the very least, he knew she'd be taken care of.

 **When I was fixing up this chapter all i could say was 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I forgot that my window was open and my neighbor is like 'Is everything alright." I did want to focus on a few characters at the end here, to see their thoughts. I didn't do Astrid, because I felt I already did a lot of her, so I did Snotlout instead.** **As you can see, I couldn't do it. I love Gobber too much, and I had to have him there for the rest of the story. I'm so sorry for making everyone scared and making your blood pressure go up. Thank you for reviewing yesboss21, neobendium, rodina2000, HappyPup1, dracologistmaster, ladipretender, I'mjustsaying, Amy, Transformers 0, Sonochu, and guests. I didn't mean to hurt everyone! Oh, and welcome dracologistmaster, Sessyruby,** **Kaida Fury,** **and KuroHime11219**. **Also, worry not ladipretender, your posts are never rambling and I enjoy reading them. Please never feel like you cannot speak your mind. I love to hear your opinions! That actually goes for all of you!**


	14. Battle for Berk

**Well, I actually am almost done with this. I hope you all like it! Thank your for reviewing Lightclaw's Shadow, dracologistmaster, neobendium, HappyPup1, ladipretender, and yesboss21, please enjoy the chapter! See I would love to prove you wrong so you could be happy, but sadly, I only have 15 chapters that I have written. Welcome to the story Joshjalexa123, BellaPevensie96, Mira Slytherin, LexiLou12, Rellik693, Ryoushi Joutei,** **NightsAnger,** **Ryoushi Joutei, Torashi Namikaze, NightsAnger, and SidheWolf5, I hope you like how it ends, I have one last chapter to put up.**

Hiccup and Toothless saw Berk looming ahead, and Hiccup felt his heart sink in worry. The Alpha stood towering over the village, with ice having destroyed the whole foundation. Wild dragons along with the dragons from the Nest and Drago's dragon army flew in circles around the head of the Alpha. As they got closer, Hiccup could just make out Vikings hiding in the massive debre.

"So what's the plan?" Astrid yelled out from behind him. Hiccup looked back. Astrid was directly at his back with Stoick and Valka the nearest. Behind them were Gobber, Snotlout, and Fishlegs. Eret and the twins were bringing up the rear. Hiccup looked down at Toothless before turning back to them. He didn't want them to get hurt, but he had to protect the people too.

"Alright, I need you all on the ground. Find all the survivors and evacuate them from the village." Hiccup ordered.

"Hiccup...you can't fight Drago and the Alpha alone!" Astrid said. Hiccup gave her an offended look.

"What are you talking about? I have Toothless with me! You guys can't do much in the air. Those dragons are still babies, and they'll be exhausted for flying all the way here. As Vikings, you need to protect the Vikings. Toothless and i will handle the dragon and Drago." Hiccup said. Eret noticed how Hiccup had not actually called the Alpha by his title. Since Hiccup was part of the Nest, he technically now answered to the new Alpha, like all the other dragons. Yet he was very careful to call the Alpha just a dragon, showing he would not acknowledge this dragon as his leader. It was inspiring really, the fact that this young man was intent on not accepting a ruler that would not work for peace.

"Hiccup..." Stoick started. He knew what would happen if Hiccup went up there. There was a chance he would not come back. He wanted to go with him, to stand by his son like he should have done those years ago, accepting him for who he was and not who they thought he should be. Now he would have to stand aside and watch again. Hiccup smiled at him.

"I'll be fine." he said. They all sighed, realizing that there was no talking him out of it. Hiccup made the most valid points too, since the tiny dragons looked ready to pass out any second.

"Be safe son." he said. Hiccup nodded. The vikings went to the ground. "Valka, Gobber, you two are with me. The twins and Snotlout will go to the north side of the village. Find all the vikings you can and help any who are injured. The same for Fishlegs, Astrid, and Eret. Go to the south. We'll cover the rest. All those who are injured have headed to the cove. Those who are willing and still capable have armed and ready to aid Hiccup should he need it." Stoick nodded. They all gave nods of agreement and split off into the groups. Valka looked up to see Hiccup and Toothless headed not for the Alpha male, but for the dragons above him. 'What is he doing?' she wondered.

Drago saw the riders come in, and the Night Fury head up toward the dragons. So the boy had survived, and none of the others learned a thing? He'd have to kill them along with the rest of Berk. However, he wanted to crush their spirits before they died, and the best way to do that seemed to be getting rid of the biggest pain in the neck he had ever encountered. "Find the Night Fury and control it!" he ordered the Alpha. The Alpha gave a soft grunt to show he accepted the order and started scanning the dragons above for the dragon with a rider.

Hiccup and Toothless used the other dragons as cover as he looked for one in particular. He knew it was like finding a needle in a haystack, but he had an upper hand in looking for a particular dragon. Living with only dragons for so long had it's benefits. To Hiccup, every dragon looked completely different, like how people looked different. It also helped that the particular dragon he was looking for was the only Stormcutter in the group, which made him easy to spot. However the more he looked, the more he realized how hard it would be to find Cloudjumper. He nearly gave up when he spotted a dragon, but it wasn't the one he was looking for, it was better!

Stormfly was only a few dragons over, looking out of it like the others. While Cloudjumper may have been stronger and larger, Stormfly was smaller, giving her more maneuverability, and more importantly she had a close bond with Hiccup. They moved closer to the dragon and Hiccup reached out for her. At first she snapped at him, and Toothless growled softly, but Hiccup reached out for her again. She pulled back again and Toothless moved forward, both just hovering in the air. Hiccup took a deep breath and moved forward again. Stormfly let him touch her head. She could see her fighting the Alpha dragon's control. For a second, it seemed as though it would work, but then she threw him off and flew away. Hiccup bit back a frustrated sigh. The Alpha's control was incredibly strong. "I guess we'll have to do this alone bud." he said. Toothless nodded and looked down at the Alpha.

The Alpha noticed an out-of-place feeling and realized his control of one of the dragons was slipping. Quickly, he set to take control of the dragon again. Satisfied that he was again in command, he saw the dragon and his rider. Roaring to tell Drago that he found the problem children, he shot a stream of ice into the air.

Toothless barley saw the attack coming and dove toward the ocean to avoid it. The other dragons around the area dodged the ice, and it flew into a harmless arc into the air before loudly crashing into the sea below. Hiccup winced as Toothless pulled out of his dive along the top of the waves, some splashing up into their faces. "Yeah, let's steer clear of that bud." he agreed with the aggravated noises Toothless made. The two moved down to cover under a rock outcrop and watcher the dragon look for their location. Hiccup had to think of something.

Stoick found Spitelout under a fallen beam. The angle made it impossible for the man to get up himself. Stoick grabbed the beam and hauled it off his second in command. "Sorry Stoick, I know you put me in charge but..." he started.

"There was nothing you could do against that behemoth." Stoick consoled him.

"Did you find him?" he asked. Before Stoick could answer, Valka came running over.

"Gobber just found a few injured in a collapsed house." she said. Spitelout was shocked. He had thought she was dead. However if Hiccup was alive, he assumed it wasn't completely unexpected for her to be alive too. He smiled at the Chief, glad that he had his family back.

"I'm coming. Spitelout, take those that you can to the cove..." he started, but the man shook his head.

"Sorry Stoick, but you'll have to find someone else for that." he said. Stoick gave him a stunned look before it turned to frustration.

"In case you forgot Spitelout, I am the Chief and I have given you an order." he said. Spitelout smirked. For all the antagonizing they had done to each other, especially when they're kids were involved, he really did care about his Chief's well being.

"I'm staying here. What good is a second command if I don't help the Chief, the Blacksmith, and the Lady of the village when the village is in trouble." the man said. Stoick gave him a grateful smile before they ran off to find Gobber and help him.

"Find him!" Hiccup could hear Drago screaming on top of the dragons head. Hiccup frowned, looking down and placing a hand on Toothless' head.

"We're gonna have to get them apart." he said. Toothless nodded and darted out of their hiding place, straight for Drago. Drago seemed to see them before they got close.

"There!" he pointed them out for the Alpha. The Alpha turned his focus onto Toothless, diverting all his energy to the small dragon. Toothless let out a yelp as he felt himself being lost to the Alpha again.

"NO!" Hiccup screamed, realizing what was happening. He pitched his body forward out of the saddle so that he was laying across the dragons head, using his body to shield Toothless' eyes and ears from the dragon. He hugged Toothless tightly. "No, I'm not loosing you again." Hiccup said firmly. Toothless felt the pull from the Alpha weakening, and fought as hard as he could. He wouldn't allow this dragon force him to hurt Hiccup. His mind went blank for a second, but then he felt anchored again but Hiccup's touch and voice. Hiccup grinned. "Stay with me bud." he begged the dragon.

"How is this possible?!" Drago yelled, not liking that there was a dragon that could resist the Alpha. Hiccup felt tears of relief. Toothless was still with him. He then had an idea. He pushed himself back into the saddle and directed Toothless down toward the water.

Valka, Stoick, Gobber, Spitelout, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Eret, and Astrid all gathered with a large number of Vikings, nearly every member of the village stood with them. Only the severely injured were missing. They ran back towards the Alpha, ready to support Hiccup.

Hiccup dove to the destroyed ships of Berk's fleet, trying to get some cover. "I have an idea bud, but your gonna have to trust me. We're gonna use that thing I've been working on." he said. Toothless made a worried sound. He had a right to be worried. Hiccup hadn't even shown Valka yet, afraid of what she would think until it's been perfected. They have only tested it out a few times, and each time it had ended in disaster. "Come on bud." Hiccup encouraged. Toothless gave a slight nod. They had to try something. Hiccup and Toothless took a lap around the village to gain speed. Cheering caught his ear and he glanced down to see everyone on Berk gathered near the edge of the cliffs.

"Take them down babe!" Astrid screamed, and Eret and Rufnut gave her sly looks, wondering if she caught her mistake.

"Go on son!" Stoick cheered. Valka clenched his hand, nervous. Gobber held up his prosthetic axe, yelling with the other Vikings.

Hiccup held tight to Toothless. "We can do this, let's go bud!" he yelled, and the two aimed directly at Drago again.

"Do something!" Drago screamed at the dragon, but he couldn't reach the Night Fury. Toothless shot right at Drago, and the large man had to dive aside to keep from getting body slammed. He looked up to see Toothless had shot up into the air. Laughing at the failed attempt, he froze to see Toothless' saddle was empty. The other Vikings were stunned too, where was Hiccup.

"HEY!" they looked just in time to see Hiccup gliding by, alone, with Inferno out. He sprayed Zippleback gas as he went. Toothless descended from his arc, aiming for the boy. Hiccup then hit a spark, and the explosion threw Drago off the Alpha completely. Toothless shot directly under Hiccup and he reached down for his saddle. Now that Toothless was aimed down without any control for his tail, they continued toward the sea. Hiccup pulled himself into the saddle and slammed his prosthetic foot into the pedal, pulling them up into the air again. Valka and the other Vikings were stunned. "YEAH BABY!" Hiccup cheered. He honestly thought they would fail again. They flew over to Drago and Hiccup leaped off of Toothless' back to stand in front of the tyrant.

"You certainly are a pain to get rid of." Drago hissed as he climbed to his feet.

"It's over Drago, surrender!" Hiccup ordered, and Toothless hissed to back him up. Drago laughed.

"You're forgetting, I have the Alpha." Drago said with a smirk.

"You really don't get it do you?!" Hiccup asked, frustrated. Drago wasn't looking at him anymore though. He was looking behind him. Hiccup turned to see the Alpha was directly behind him. "Oh, no." he groaned. He turned to Toothless and tried to run. The dragon reared back.

"HICCUP!" he heard someone scream, but he wasn't sure exactly who. He realized he wasn't going to be able to escape. As a last ditch effort to protect himself, he hunched down, putting an arm over his face to protect himself. Toothless at that exact moment realized the same thing, and leaped onto the boy, curling around him as a shell just as the ice from the dragon hit. Drago pulled away, getting sprayed by ice shards, then he began laughing.

"NO!" Valka and Stoick were the first to reach the ice. Valka, weaponless, just began to beat onto the ice with her fists while Stoick sank an axe as deep as it could go into the axe. Astrid wanted to run to their side, but she couldn't get her feet to move. Hiccup couldn't just be dead. Gobber and the others stood stunned too. It wasn't possible. He couldn't just die! then the ice began to glow. Acting quickly, Stoick grabbed Valka and yanked her behind the stone foundation of a nearby destroyed house. They were no use to anyone dead. Drago at the same time tried to take a few steps back, but the ice exploded, and he was thrown to the ground from the impact. The other Vikings were knocked to the ground as well, and some of the ice had evaporated into steam, making a curtain of white.

"Hi...Hiccup?!" Astrid asked. Stoick and Valka carefully stood up from behind the stone as the wind cleared away the screen. Toothless stood, glowing blue with the scales on his back, protectively wrapped around Hiccup with a wing shielding him from any falling debre. Hiccup carefully climbed to his feet, looking at Toothless. He had thought that had been the end for them both, but Toothless wasn't about to accept that. Toothless looked back to check on him, and seeing Hiccup standing there giving him a goofy little grin, Toothless couldn't help but return it with a gummy one of his own. Hiccup looked up at the Alpha.

"Alright bud, let's end this, for good." he said, climbing onto the dragon's back. Toothless nodded. Drago meanwhile ran to the Alpha, climbing onto his tusk.

"Kill them!" he screamed at the Alpha. The boy wasn't just a lucky nuisance. He was a deadly threat. Drago had never seen anything like it, but that didn't matter. The dragon and his boy had to be eliminated. "Kill them now!" he screamed. Toothless was not about to give the dragon a chance. He had attacked Hiccup for the last time. With a huge roar, issuing his challenge, Toothless blasted the bewilderbeast hard in the face with a massive plasma blast. It knocked the dragon back a step.

"What in the name of Odin..." Stoick gasped as the other vikings came to stand by them.

"He's challenging the Alpha." Valka said, not knowing weather to be afraid, angry, happy, or proud. She decided she had enough room for all the emotions. Toothless then roared at the circling dragons, asking them to join him. Stormfly heard his call cut through the fog of the Alpha's control, and shaking her head free of his influence, she assessed the situation. Without hesitating, she returned the call, telling Toothless that she would be on her way. Then she slapped the nearest dragon with her tail, which was Hookfang. She figured that was alright, Hookfang sometimes needed a violent shove to make him realize what was going on. Hookfang shook free of the Alpha's control and heard Toothless give a second call to them. toothless then went back to blasting the Alpha, and the two dragons roared at the rest. Sharpshot, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, Skullcrusher, Cloudjumper, and Grump were the first ones to join them. Slowly all the dragons were freed and raced to stand beside Hiccup.

Hiccup looked around in amazement as an army of dragons surrounded him and Toothless, blasting at the Alpha. Drago raised a spear in anger, aiming it at Toothless' head. Seeing what the man was doing, Hiccup let go with one hand to grab inferno. Then releasing his hold on the dragon and hoping that his strap was still in good enough shape to hold him in, he stood up in the saddle and threw Inferno with the ignited blade as hard as he could. Because Drago was turned the way he was, it knocked the spear and his fake arm off, forcing the man back. Toothless stopped attacking to give Hiccup an appreciative and proud gurgle. Hiccup looked up at Drago. "Do you understand what it's like to be with dragons? It's over Drago!" he yelled.

"NOT YET!" the man screamed. He was acting only out of desperation now, Hiccup knew it. He looked at Toothless and signaled for them to finish this fight. The two rose in the air, Toothless charging a blast as he did. Stormfly and the the other dragons gave him cover, and the Vikings decided to help as well, throwing weapons at the dragon and Drago. Finally Toothless let forth a powerful blast that jarred Hiccup almost out of the saddle. The Alpha screamed as it threw him backwards and broke off one of his tusks. Toothless then roared again, reissuing the challenge.

"The Alpha protects them all!" Hiccup said firmly. The bewilderbeast knew he had been bested. If this fight continued, he could die. Bowing his head, he ceded the battle, his title, and all the dragons to Toothless, agreeing to leave. Then he turned and leaped into the sea with a huge splash. Realizing that they had won and the battle was at an end, the Vikings broke out in massive cheers.

 **I have once again used Spitelout as an illustration for all the Vikings of Berk. They are all incredibly found of Stoick, evident from both the first and second movie. In the first when Stoick made calls that didn't make sense and was risky to them, they still followed him, showing they trusted his leadership. In the second the devastated way they reacted to his death showed how fond they were. In the movie, the Vikings didn't run away, but rather gathered together to make a stand. I used him to illustrate why. I kept some things the same, the things that I really liked and didn't have the hart to change. Oh, side not. I left whoever called out his name unknown for a reason. Pick whoever you want it to be, whoever you think it was, or multiple people.**


	15. New Era

**Here we are, the last chapter. Thank you for reviewing Lightclaw's Shadow, HappyPup1, Transformers 0 , ladipretender , and neobendium. Also welcome aboard Keiri Kurosukara, emma162, and Danny's Valkyrie.**

Hiccup looked to see if he could see any sign of Drago in the sea, but not seeing a thing, he and Toothless decided to head back to the village. The dragons and the Vikings were already gathered together. No anger or mistrust among any of them, instead they were all celebrating their freedom. Finally, there was truly peace. Hiccup climbed off of Toothless' back, looking back at his friend. He was about to speak, but Cloudjumper approached. He stood stall in front of Toothless, and Hiccup stepped aside to see what was about to happen. Cloudjumped bowed low to the ground. Stormfly, Sharpshot, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, and Hookfang quickly followed along with Skullcrusher and Grump. The other dragons quickly followed suit, all letting it be known that they're allegiance was to the new Alpha, Toothless. Realizing what was going on, Toothless turned to Hiccup, as if asking his opinion. Hiccup laughed and gave him a 'go on' gesture. Toothless stood proudly before them, accepting the position. He let out a loud roar, which all the dragon's answered before he turned back to Hiccup. He nuzzled the boy close as if saying 'this changes nothing.'

Stoick and Valka shoved through the massive number of dragons to get to their son, both pulling him into a bone crushing hug. Hiccup gasped for air, and Toothless started laughing. Gobber walked over and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Hiccup tried to wiggle free. Years of only interacting with one person other than dragons made him a little afraid of public attention, not that he was ever found of it to begin with. He pulled free of them at last, or more like they let him go, and Toothless shoved his head under the boy's arm to get his attention. Hiccup turned and hugged the dragon, then stepped back to look at him. "You never seem to amaze me bud." he said. The dragon smiled before suddenly pulling back just far enough to lick Hiccup's face. Hiccup pulled back and Toothless moved forward, knocking the boy onto the ground where he licked him again. The Vikings and dragons all roared in laughter. "Toothless, you know that doesn't wash out!" the boy yelled, but he wasn't mad so Toothless ignored him. Stoick and Valka stood smiling until Cloudjumped and Skullcrusher both bumped them from behind, and both turned to greet their dragons. Grump flew over too.

"Oh, give me a cuddle you overgrown lump!" Gobber cried out, so happy to see him, and Grump landed on top of him. The others laughed again. Astrid looked over to see Stormfly running towards her, and ran over to hug the dragon. Fishlegs ran and leaped onto Meatlug, pulling her to the ground in a tight hug. Ruffnut ran over to Barf, and Belch went to her as well.

"Oh Barf...not you!" she said as Barf glared at him too, shoving Belch away. Tuffnut immediately hugged him, glared at his sister offended that she did that. However the two heads smiled again. Snotlout ran over and hugged Hookfang too. Sharpshot flew over and landed on Gothi, the elder, and she smiled as she pet him. Eret stood a little out of place, and getting back to his feet Hiccup went over to him.

"You ah, alright there?" Hiccup asked. Eret looked up at him. In all reality, Eret had never thought of what he'd do when he was no longer forced to work for Drago. Now he had no where to go and no one to go to.

"I guess I'll have to go find my men and..." he started, but Hiccup looked around the busted village.

"You know, even though it's gonna take some work to get it back together, Berk is a pretty big place. Since me and mom are staying here again, I guess no one would mind a bunch more rowdy idiots. Just as long as you and your men don't hurt any dragons." Hiccup said with a smiled. Eret looked at him in surprise.

"Your inviting me to stay?" Eret asked in surprise. Hicccup nodded.

"Yeah, why not. With peace with the dragons Berk could use a few more dragon experts and dragon riders." Hiccup said with a grin. Eret felt incredibly touched. He could see why the others liked this boy so much, he had a heart bigger than any other warrior Eret had met.

"Thank you, and I'll take you up on that." Eret agreed. Hiccup turned to leave, only to find Astrid standing in front of him. He was about to speak to her when she lashed out, punching him hard in the arm. Toothless looked at her in surprise, and Stoick and Valka smiled, as if they knew something Hiccup didn't.

"What was that for?!" he asked, offended.

"That was for scaring me!" she snapped, but then she smiled and leaned in to hiss him on the mouth. "And that is for everything else." she said. Hiccup stood surprised, then he smiled and pulled her to him, kissing her. Gobber smiled until he noticed a boy standing next to him, then he covered the boy's eyes. Stoick then walked away. Hiccup pulled back from Astrid, expecting her punch him. Instead she just smiled. Stoick returned with Gothi.

"Hiccup." he called. Hiccup approached his father. "Berk is entering a new age. We have made peace with the dragons, and now with Valka and you returning, the dragons are living on Berk as well. It won't be easy, or immediate, but we can make it work." Stoick said. Hiccup nodded, agreeing.

"I know, and I'll be right there to help you Dad." Hiccup said. Stoick smirked, as if Hiccup missed something.

"The dragons have a new leader, one that believes in a future with Vikings and dragons. I think Berk needs the same thing." he said. Many of the Vikings and Valka understood, and all looked excited about the idea. Hiccup stood a little confused.

"Dad, what do you mean?" Hiccup asked. There was no way he could be saying what Hiccup thought he was.

"I've decided to retire. I have a family to catch up with." Stoick said, placing one hand on Hiccup's shoulder and holding Valka's hand with the other. "It's your time now son." he said. Hiccup took a hesitant step back. Stoick was making him Chief! He felt his chest constrict. Leading people? Could he even do that? He hasn't lived with a lot of people in five years, did they all really think he could take over the village? Hiccup went to take another step back when Toothless nudged him forward, giving him an encouraging look. Of course Toothless would be right beside him. He looked back up at his dad and took a deep breath. They all looked as though they believed in him. He shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess only if you promise that you, Mom, and Gobber will help me and Toothless." Hiccup said with a sheepish grin. Stoick broke out into a huge grin, probably the first that the village had seen on him in over five years. They cheered, accepting this decision. The boy did just risk his life to protect them, and he believed in a future of peace. Astrid scowled however.

"You don't want my help?" she asked. Hiccup laughed.

"Are you kidding, I figured you'd be the one telling me what to do." he said with a little laugh. He face brightened up, but she same him a little smirk as she shook her head, silently telling him he'd pay for that later. Gothi signaled for Hiccup to kneel. He hesitated a second more, then inhaling deeply, he knelt down. She took some ash and drew on his forehead. It was the symbol of the Chief. Hiccup felt shaky as he stood back up. Stoick gave Gobber a nod, and the man stepped forward.

"Presenting, the Chief of Berk!" he yelled and everyone cheered again, and he released his breath. Toothless looked at all the other dragons and they all shot fire into the sky, celebrating the two new leaders and the new era they represented.

Hiccup knew it wasn't going to be easy. They had a lot of work ahead of them, but that was alright because he was just as stubborn as they come. He would change the world, slowly if he had to, to make it a safe place for everyone. He almost dared someone to come to Berk, because him nor Toothless would stand for anyone harming their people or dragons. The two would stand together, because their bond was stronger than any before. As long as they had each other, they'd be just fine. He looked at his family and his friends, and for the first time in his whole life, he truly felt home!

 **This is the part where I normally say 'thank you for reading this' and list out every name of the people who reviewed, who added it to their favorites list, or followed. However, normally I don't have so many wonderful amazing people to thank that I can't even begin to list everyone! You are all amazing people and I can't thank you enough for staying with me for the whole thing! I hope you all liked it, and maybe I'll see you again with another story!**


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